What remains of the scholar when the man is gone? 

A great mass of paper is one answer: paper with major potential for future researchers. To realise that potential, by turning an inchoate heap of material into a coherent historical resource, is the job of the archivist.

The mandate of the ANU Archives includes the preservation of personal and research papers of significant ANU researchers. In 2026 the archive began working on what may be the largest ever donation of personal papers from a former ANU faculty member, the late Niel Gunson. 

This talk will introduce this new collection, while discussing the processes undertaken to render it intelligible - processes intended, at least in theory, for the benefit of the historian and biographer.

Dr David Romney Smith is an archivist at the Australian National University. He has published and spoken internationally on medieval history.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://anu.zoom.us/j/88902124291?pwd=f9S8I7GgtJwog6OkB0E3BQTxq77WdN.1 

Meeting ID: 889 0212 4291

Password: 814181