Andrew Moore (historian)
Andrew Moore is an Australian historian and academic, a specialist in Australian right-wing politics. He has taught at the University of Sydney, The University of New South Wales, England's University of Lincoln and the University of Western Sydney. His areas of expertise include Twentieth Century Australian History, Irish-Australian history and social history of sport, especially rugby league football. Moore is a leading expert on both the New Guard and the Old Guard. Academic career. Andrew Moore has been teaching Australian history since 1985 and currently teaches at the University of Western Sydney, where he  is an associate professor in the faculty of Humanities and Communication Arts. Moore graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of arts and a diploma of education. He also holds a PhD from La Trobe University. Moore has worked on multiple projects with the University of Western Sydney as well as The Australian Research Council (ARC). The university has funded two of Andrew Moore’s papers," Mr Big, Mr Wig and the Neo-Nazi: the Browne Fitzpatrick Affair and Privilege Case, 1955" and "Biographical Registrar of the Australian Labour Movement 1788–1975". He has been funded by the ARC to construct  a historical biography of approximately 1200 members of the Old and New Guard. He is also a member of the New South Wales working party of the Australian Dictionary of Biography and has been affiliated since 1991. Moore has also worked with the Australian Society for Sports History (ASSH) and their sub-group the Tom Brock Bequest Committee. He has also given the 1st Tom Brock Lecture in 1999 as well and has written an introductory essay for the book collection of Tom Brock lectures. Since 2005 he has become a chairman for the Tom Brock Bequest Committee. Moore has  written over 70 papers, articles, and book chapters. Moore is currently a principal supervisor for doctoral projects and is currently supervising a thesis titled The Political Economy of the Australian Mining Industry, 1945–2010. He has expressed the opinion that universities should support and fund the research passion projects of their teaching staff. Andrew Moore is a member of the federal executive of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History and has been so since 1986. He is also an associate editor for their peer-reviewed journal "Labour History" published by Liverpool University Press. Irish-Australian history. One of  Andrew Moore's specialisations is Irish-Australian history, with a focus on Irish-Australian figures such as the famous Francis De Groot. Although most of his writings and lectures in this field are about Francis de Groot, Moore also has focused on other Australian-Irish figures. He has held a seminar on Australian-Irish rebel Phil Cunningham at Blacktown City Council. Andrew Moore has written the biographical work "Francis De Groot: Irish Fascist Australian Legend". The book was funded by the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW Committee. It was shortlisted for the State Library of NSW's Australian History  Prize in 2006. The book details the life of Sir Francis de Groot from his early life in Ireland to his leadership of the New Guard in Australia. The book had a mixed range of reception, with some criticisms from both the academic field and from general critics. He has been criticised for his labelling of Francis de Groot as fascist. This criticism has come from both Sydney Morning Herald columnist Gerald Henderson and Senior Lecturer of politics at Deakin University Geoff Robinson, as both have disagreed with Moore's labelling. Moore's overuse of acronyms when discussing De Groot 's career in the New Guard has also been criticised by Canberra writer Frank O'Shea. However, there has also been positive reception of the book. Moore himself has been described as having the "…rare skill in distinguishing facts from fictions…" by political historian Geoff Robinson. Historian Michael Cathcart of the University of Melbourne has also appraised the book and Moore, calling the book "..a dignified work of patient scholarship and unexpected insights." Cathcart also has argued against Gerald Henderson's critique of the label of fascist, claiming that Moore writes a character that is more than predictable left-wing judgements . In 2004, he found Francis De Groot's Cavalry officer's sword in Ireland after giving a talk on Australian-Irish history at the University of Dublin and was returned to the National Museum of Australia. Australian right-winged political history. Australian right-winged political history is one of Moore’s primary field of study, with his expertise being the Old Guard and the New Guard paramilitary organisations. Moore’s works have covered extreme Australian fascist movements and organisations to the documentation of the Labour party members and anti-Communist historians. Moore himself has alluded to not identifying as fascist  or associating politically with right-wing political groups. He has also written about the historiography of right-winged Australian political history, namely through analysis of archival evidence. A major contribution of Andrew Moore to this field is his article "Writing About the Extreme Right in Australia." It is an introductory essay to the 89th issue of "Labour History" that held a thematic section titled The "‘Extreme Right’ in the Twentieth Century Australia." It is one of the most prominent sources of academic papers on Labour history and historiography. Moore has also written a biographic piece about anti-communist historian Malcolm  Ellis, whose archival works are displayed in the Malcolm Ellis collection at the National Library of Australia. Moore’s essay “The ‘historical expert’: M.H. Ellis and the historiography of the cold war” is a further analysis of Malcolm Ellis’ life, examining his anti-communist views and their relationship to his work as an Australian historian. His first book was "The Secret Army and the Premier Conservative Paramilitary Organisations in New South Wales" which detailed and analysed the actions of the Old and New Guard under Jack Lang’s second term as premier. Academic John McCarthy from UNSW has appraised the  book, stating it was “..meticulously researched and tightly argued.” McCarthy also notes that the general reader may disagree with some of Moore’s argument. The work has also received negative reception, with historian Richard Evans writing the article "‘A Menace to this Realm’: The New Guard and the New South Wales Police, 1931–32" that criticises Andrew Moore’s book. The critique suggests that Moore’s work is flawed, and his argument on the Old Guard is a dominant view of the political history of New South Wales that Moore has led. Moore himself has responded to the criticism in the  paper "Superintendent Mackay and the Curious Case of The Vanishing Secret Army" and has defended his work. Australian sport history. Andrew Moore has contributed to the historical field of Australian social sport mainly through his writings on Australian Rugby League, with also a brief contribution to the history of Australian motorsports. He has worked with the ASSH as a contributing writer and editor of their book "Centenary Reflections: 100 years of Rugby League in Australia". Moore’s specialisation in the field of Australian Rugby League history is mainly on the history of the team the North Sydney Bears. Andrew Moore ’s work “The Mighty Bears!: A social history of North Sydney Rugby League” details why the club has been so unsuccessful, as well as analysing the relationship of Australian Rugby League with the rise of the working class. Fellow Tom Brock lecturer Charles little critically acclaimed this work on its exploration of how women were treated in the club and how the introduction of licences to sell liquor affected its working class demographic. Greg Mallory from the University of Queensland also reviewed the book, praising it for its reinterpretation of the club’s history by discussing the impact of popular  culture on the club. Mallory also mentions that the book is unique for its discussion of racism within the club's history, and how its development is tied to larger cultural movements within Australia. Statistician David Middleton also contributed to the book through his compilation of the club records from 1908 to 1995. In Andrew Moore’s “Opera of the Proletariat: Rugby League, the Labour Movement and Working-Class Culture in New South Wales and Queensland” he continues a similar analysis of political Australian history and its relationship with Rugby League in NSW. Publications. Conference papers. "Activists in Aggregate: Collective  Biography, Labour History, and the Biographical Register of the Australian Labour Movement 1788–1975", co-hosted by Rittau, Y. and Shields, J., "Labour History and its people", Canberra, (2011). "Workers and the New Guard. Proletarian Fascism in New South Wales", "Eighth National Labour History Conference", Griffith University, Brisbane, (2003). Other. “Collective Biography and Labour History: The Case of The Biographical Register of the Australian Labour Movement, 1788-1975.”, "Business and Labour History Group," (2009).