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Tuning
into ABC Radio National on a Sunday you may have come across the highlights
of the Boyer
Collection. Your attention would have been captured by the
voices of prominent Australians disseminating, discussing and debating
many a varied subject. Lectures have been presented by prime minsters,
scientists, authors, high court justices and intellectuals and many,
many more personalities. This anthology is only an entree into what
has become a forty-year celebrated history of the Boyer lecture series
aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
 |
| Richard Boyer Image courtesy of the ABC |
The Boyer Lectures commenced in 1959. Originally called the ABC Lectures, they were renamed in 1961 after the ABC board chairman Richard Boyer, who had first suggested the lecture series. His vision for the lecture series consisted of the ABC board inviting a prominent Australian to present their thoughts and ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues through a series of six radio lectures.
This program has created a vast body of intellectual thought, capturing over the forty years great insight into the minds of a diverse array of Australians.
Over the years speakers have included Justice Michael Kirby (The Judges), Bob Hawke (The Resolution of Conflict) , Dame Roma Mitchell (The Web of Criminal Law), Sir Gustav Nossal (Nature’s Defence), Sir MacFarlane Burnet (Biology and the Appreciation of Life), Eva Cox (A Truly Civil Society) and David Malouf (A Spirit of Play – The Making of Australian Consciousness).
The lectures have all been published, with some, for example the David Malouf lectures, selling exceptionally well.
 |
| Donald McDonald Image courtesy of the ABC |
To mark the ABC’s 70th anniversary Chairman Donald McDonald edited the book Highlights of the Boyer Lectures 1959-2000. The Boyer Highlights for radio were devised when the 2003 presenter had to withdraw and McDonald was invited by Radio National to edit and present the program.
In devising the Boyer Highlights, McDonald has presented a collection of lectures by theme: the law and human rights, a meaningful democracy, population, migration, social change, bioethics and medical research, aesthetics and culture and defining Australia, its history and identity.
The Highlights have provided an opportunity to revisit a wide selection of lectures. For McDonald, and no doubt the listener, to hear the presenters’ voices again has been an added bonus. On this note, some of the Boyer lecture transcripts are available in audio file, and all of the transcripts of the lectures are available at the ABC website.
Useful links
- ABC Boyer Lectures
- List of Boyer Lectures
- Boyer Highlights
- Murray Gleeson
- Michael Kirby
- Bob Hawke
- Dame Roma Mitchell
- Sir MacFarlane Burnet-Biography 1
- Sir MacFarlane Burnet-Biography 2
- Sir Gustav Nossal
- Eva Cox
- David Malouf
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