Gallery of Australian Biographies

The biographies are short, precise accounts of Australian historical and contemporary figures from all walks of life. Intended as a starting point for students’ own investigations, the biographies contain information such as date of birth, achievements, honours, and contributions to Australian society. It is anticipated that students will be encouraged to interpret these lives against social and historical contexts and make their own informed judgements about the influences that shape them.

The biographies are sorted into the following categories:

There is also information on biographical writing and lesson plans with a biographical focus.

Australian Prime Ministers

julia_gillard
Julia Gillard

kevin_rudd
Kevin Rudd

Image of John Howard
John Howard

Image of Paul Keating
Paul Keating

Image of Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke

Image of Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser

Image of Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam

Image of Sir Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies

deakin
Alfred Deakin

barton
Edmund Barton

Politics

tony_abbott
Tony Abbott

barwick
Sir Garfield Barwick

Image of Neville Bonner
Neville Bonner

bob_brown
Bob Brown

cowan
Edith Cowan

Image of Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett

goldstein
Vida Goldstein

Image of Janine Haines
Janine Haines

isaacs
Sir Isaac Isaacs

la_trobe
Charles La Trobe

Image of Carmen Lawrence
Carmen Lawrence

lyons
Dame Enid Lyons

macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie

parkes
Sir Henry Parkes

ken_wyatt
Ken Wyatt

Sports

Image of Layne Beachley
Layne Beachley

Image of Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman

Image of Grant Hackett
Grant Hackett

Image of Nova Peris
Nova Peris

Image of Louise Sauvage
Louise Sauvage

Community

Image of Waleed Ali
Waleed Aly

Image of Trisha Broadbridge
Trisha Broadbridge

carillo
Sister Scholastica
Carillo

chisholm
Caroline Chisholm

Image of Hugh Evans
Hugh Evans

flynn
John Flynn

gilmore
Dame Mary Gilmore

kerkyasharian
Stepan
Kerkyasharian

lawson_l
Louisa Lawson

le
Tan Le

Image of Michael Long
Michael Long

mahlab
Eve Mahlab

Image of Jason McCartney
Jason McCartney

nicholls
Douglas Nicholls

odonoghue
Lowjita O'Donoghue

Image of Jimmy Pham
Jimmy Pham

elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth II

smiths
Shirley Smith

truganini
Truganini

waldock
Michael Waldock

The Arts

Image of Paul Jennings
Paul Jennings

Image of Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly

lawson_h
Henry Lawson

moncrieff
Gladys Moncreiff

Image of Steven Page
Steven Page

paterson
Banjo Paterson

No image available for Clifford Possum
Clifford Possum

Image of Richard Tognetti
Richard Tognetti

tudwali
Robert Tudwali

yunpingu
Mandawuy
Yunupingu

Explorers & Adventurers

Image of Kay Cottee
Kay Cottee

kingsford_smith
Sir Charles
Kingsford Smith

Image of Jesse Martin
Jesse Martin

mawson
Sir Douglas
Mawson

Image of Brigitte Muir
Brigitte Muir

Image of Andy Thomas
Andy Thomas


Nancy Wake

   

 Science

clunies_ross
Sir Ian Clunies-Ross

florey
Lord Howard Florey

gould
John Gould

hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave

hollows
Fred Hollows

fiona_stanley
Fiona Stanley

tebbutt
John Tebbutt