Famous Australian Intellectuals & Academics

American–Australian naturalist Terri Irwin is best known as the co-host of The Crocodile Hunter, along with her husband, the late animal expert Steve Irwin. She has also been part of shows such as Croc Files and Crikey! It's the Irwins, and helped in the development of Australia Zoo.

Australian moral philosopher, Peter Singer, is currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specializes in applied ethics. He is best known for his book Animal Liberation, which is considered a seminal work in the animal liberation movement.  The Council of Australian Humanist Societies recognized him as the Australian Humanist of the Year in 2004.

Bob Irwin, better known to the world as the father of legendary Australian conservationist Steve Irwin, is a conservationist in his own right. Initially a plumber, he later built the Beerwah Reptile Park, which later became Australia Zoo. Following Steve’s death, he cut all ties with the zoo.

Elton Mayo was an Australian-born industrial researcher, psychologist, and organizational theorist. As a psychologist, Mayo played an important role during World War I, helping soldiers returning from the war recover from the stresses. He also conducted psycho-pathological tests and is credited with pioneering the psychoanalytic treatment of shell-shock. Elton Mayo's works also laid the basis for the human relations movement.

Douglas Mawson was an Australian Antarctic explorer, geologist, and academic. Counted among the most important leaders of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, Mawson was honored with a knighthood in 1914. Best remembered for his contribution to Australian geology, Mawson was featured on the Australian one-hundred-dollar note from 1984 to 1996.

Nobel Prize-winning Australian-American biochemist and molecular biologist Elizabeth Blackburn is best known for co-discovering the enzyme telomerase. She was allegedly removed from the American President's Council on Bioethics over her support for stem cell research, which went against the government. She has honorary doctorate degrees from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

Apart from teaching philosophy at the New York University and the Australian National University, David Chalmers has also gained fame for his study on the hard problem of consciousness. A TED speaker, he has also penned books such as The Conscious Mind. He also sings for the Zombie Blues band.

Australian archbishop George Pell had served as the first prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. He had also played professional Australian rules football before stepping into priesthood. He made headlines in 2018, when he was convicted of child sexual assault, though the conviction was reversed later.

Richard Farleigh is an Australian reality television personality and private investor. Apart from investing in major companies like Wolfson Microelectronics and Evolution Group, Farleigh is also credited with setting up an advisory firm called H2O Markets which he launched in 2010. A former chess player, Richard Farleigh has represented Bermuda and Monaco in the 31st and 34th Chess Olympiad respectively.

V. Gordon Childe was an Australian archaeologist best remembered for his contribution to the study of European prehistory. One of the earliest supporters of culture-historical archaeology, Childe went on to become the first proponent of Marxist archaeology. He is regarded as one of the best-known and most revered archaeologists of the 20th century.

With a medical degree from University of Sydney and a PhD in anthropology from London School of Economics, Michael Taussig is famed for his provocative ethnographic studies and unconventional style of teaching. Best known for his commentaries on Karl Marx, especially in relation to the idea of commodity fetishism, he has also produced several well-researched works on medical anthropology. .

Alexander Downer is an Australian former diplomat and politician. From 1996 to 2007, Downer served as Australia's foreign minister, becoming the longest-serving Minister for Foreign Affairs in the history of Australian politics. He also served as the Liberal Party's leader from 1994 to 1995. Alexander Downer was honored with the prestigious Centenary Medal in January 2001.

Nobel Prize- and two-time Booker Prize-winning author J. M. Coetzee had started his career as a Fulbright scholar. After teaching English in the U.S. and South Africa, he now lives and teaches in Australia. He is best known for his colonial settings in novels such as Waiting for the Barbarians.

Tim Flannery is an Australian paleontologist, mammalogist, environmentalist, explorer, conservationist, and public scientist. Tim Flannery is credited with discovering over 30 mammal species. He is also credited with co-founding Climate Council, a non-profit organization that aims at providing accurate information on climate change to the Australian public. In 2007, Tim Flannery was named Australian of the Year.

Peter Costello is an Australian former politician and lawyer. From 1996 to 2007, Costello served as the Treasurer of Australia, becoming the longest-serving Australian Treasurer in history. Costello had an illustrious political career; from 1990 to 2009 he was an important member of the House of Representatives and from 1994 to 2007, he served as the Liberal Party's Deputy Leader.

Steve Keen is an Australian author and economist. One of the most important critics of neoclassical economics, Keen's work focuses on modeling American economist Hyman Philip Minsky's financial instability hypothesis. Steve Keen also served as a former associate professor at the University of Western Sydney.

Known for co-developing the concept of a sustainable form of agriculture called the permaculture, Bill Mollison was one of the most influential ecological pioneers, authors, and teachers. Also the founder of The Permaculture Institute (Tasmania) and co-publisher of a book called Permaculture One, he is credited with training thousands of people the art of growing food without harming the nature.  

Joseph Jacobs was an Australian literary critic, folklorist, social scientist, translator, writer, and historian. A notable publisher of English folklore, Jacobs' work is credited with popularizing some of the most renowned versions of English fairy tales like Jack the Giant Killer and Jack and the Beanstalk. Jacobs was widely regarded as one of the world's leading experts on English folklore.

Australian philosopher J. L. Mackie is known for his invaluable contribution the philosophy of religion and metaphysics. He believed objective values don’t exist. Best known for his book Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong, he introduced ideas such as the argument from queerness that supported moral nihilism.

Former premier of West Australia, Colin Barnett boasts of an economics degree and has lectured at the Western Australian Institute of Technology. He was dragged into a controversy when he granted Rio Tinto the right to destroy Aboriginal sites for mining. He has also been the Treasurer of Western Australia.

Australian geologist Ian Plimer taught mining geology and earth sciences at institutes such as the University of Adelaide. Apart from publishing over 120 research papers, he has also been a co-editor of the five-volume Encyclopedia of Geology and has penned the award-winning A Short History of Planet Earth.

Born to a farmer in Australia, Raymond Dart initially wished to become a medical missionary to China. However, he was later pushed by his father to study science. He later grew up to be a renowned anatomist and anthropologist, best known for discovering the first fossil of the Australopithecus africanus.

Rene Rivkin was a Chinese-born Australian investor, entrepreneur, stockbroker, and investment adviser. Rene Rivkin was named Stockbroker of the Year in 1985 by Business Review Weekly. From 1982 to 1999, Rene Rivkin was associated with important people and became a household name in Australia. In 2003, he was accused of insider trading and sentenced to nine months of weekend detention.

Richard Bonynge is an Australian pianist and conductor best known for conducting almost all of his wife Dame Joan Sutherland's operatic performances from 1962 to 1990. For his services to music, Richard Bonynge was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, in 1977. In 2009, Richard Bonynge was honored with the prestigious Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award.

John Hewson is an Australian former politician. Serving as the Liberal Party's leader from 1990 to 1994, Hewson led the Coalition to defeat at the federal election in 1993; the loss ultimately led to his retirement. Prior to his political career, Hewson worked as an economic advisor under the Fraser Government and was associated with the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Philosopher and Utrecht University professor Rosi Braidotti was born in Italy but moved to Australia at 16. An academic whose research scope includes postmodern feminism and continental philosophy, she has also earned honorary degrees from various universities and the knighthood in the Netherlands. Her books include Nomadic Subjects.

Australian historian and bestselling author Geoffrey Blainey is best known for his books on economic and social history. Initially a freelance writer, he also later taught economic history at the University of Melbourne. He has also chaired the Australia Council. His books include The Peaks of Lyell.

Keith Windschuttle is an Australian historian, writer, and former board member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). He is best known for producing works that discuss social and other important issues in Australia. A respected literary figure, Windschuttle has been serving as the editor-in-chief of Quadrant since 2015. Since 1994, he has been serving as the publisher of Macleay Press.

Australian-born British explorer and ornithologist Hubert Wilkins is best remembered for pioneering the use of the submarine for polar exploration. While he initially studied photography and engineering, he later embarked on the world’s first transpolar airplane flight across the Arctic and the first over parts of Antarctica.

British clinical psychologist Tony Attwood is best known for his expertise on the autism spectrum. While he now teaches at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, he has also penned the bestselling book Asperger's Syndrome - A Guide for Parents and Professionals. He also organizes workshops and training courses on Asperger's Syndrome.

Known as a pioneer of physicalism, British-Australian philosopher J. J. C. Smart laid the foundation of the Type Identity theory. A professor of philosophy, who spent most of life teaching at prestigious universities such as the Australian National University, Smart was also a skilled player of both cricket and hockey.

Apart from being a successful barrister, Melbourne-based Julian Burnside, now a Living National Treasure, is also a famed human rights activist. A lover of the arts, he is a passionate collector of paintings and sculptures and has also chaired Chamber Music Australia. An author too, he has penned a children’s book.

Ferdinand von Mueller was a German-Australian geographer, physician, and botanist. He is credited with founding the National Herbarium of Victoria, the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. He is also credited with naming several Australian plants. Such is his popularity that many plants, animals, journals, and places in Australia are named after him. 

Phillip Knightley was an Australian literary critic, author, and journalist. A well-known journalist with interests in war reporting and espionage, Knightley received prestigious awards, such as the Overseas Press Club of America Award. In 1980 and 1988 he was named Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards, becoming one of two journalists to have earned the award twice.

Australian economist Glenn Stevens is known for his 20-year stint at the Reserve Bank of Australia, part of it as its governor. A staunch Christian, he also plays the guitar at his local church. He has chaired the Australian Council of Financial Regulators and has headed the Anika Foundation.

Apart from teaching at the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian anthropologist Genevieve Bell has also had an 18-year stint at Silicon Valley as an Intel Fellow. The Stanford alumna is also a TED speaker and has been named an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Australian-British philosopher Samuel Alexander initially rejected a fellowship at Lincoln College, Oxford, to study experimental psychology instead. He taught at Owens College for most of his life. He is best remembered for the philosophical ideas expressed in his book Space, Time and Deity, and for his interest in metaphysics.

Australian philosopher John Passmore taught in various universities across the world, including New Zealand’s University of Otago and the U.S.’s Brandeis University. A Companion of the Order of Australia, he had penned works such as Man's Responsibility for Nature and Philosophical Reasoning. His interests included history of philosophy.

English biologist and anthropologist Walter Baldwin Spencer is remembered for his pioneering study of the indigenous population of Australia. He initially taught biology but later drifted to anthropology. He was also knighted but died while on an expedition to study the Ushuaia of the Tierra del Fuego.

Apart from gaining fame as a sailor and an adventurer, Alan Villiers also became famous as a photographer and author. He was 15 when he first went sailing. Of his 44 books, one of the most well-known is Men, Ships, and the Sea, which was released by the National Geographic Society.

Anthropologist William Edward Hanley Stanner contributed immensely to studies on Indigenous Australians. He was also one of the men behind the Canberra-based Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and taught at the Australian National University. An Aboriginal rights activist, he is said to have coined the term the Great Australian Silence.

Geoffrey Dutton was an Australian author and historian. He studied at the University of Adelaide, where he started writing for the avant-garde journal Angry Penguins. He went on to have a prolific career, during which he wrote or edited over 200 books across a range of genres. He was a co-founder of the paperback publishing company Sun Books. 

Surprisingly, Francis James Gillen was not a trained anthropologist but learned much about the Aboriginal population of Australia while working with the Australian postal and telegraph service. As a recognition of his efforts, he was made the magistrate and sub-protector of the Aborigines. He also collaborated with British anthropologist Baldwin Spencer.