Australians studying Asia:
the ASAA 1976-1997

http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ASAA/King/King01.html

Rebecca King

Introduction: Australia, Asia and the ASAA

At the time of the formation of the ASAA Asian studies were still viewed as encompassing 'lotus eating' orientalism, suitable perhaps for academic study but not necessarily relevant in 'the real world'[1]. Popular Australian views about Asia, hostile or favourable, were based mostly on a profound lack of knowledge, and reflected the predominantly European cultural heritage. In the late 1990s Asia is an integral part of the Australian social scene, whether in discussion of the Suharto clan, consideration of the Japanese economy, the Hong Kong handover, India's religious wars, holidays in Phuket, or business opportunities in Vietnam. A diverse range of views about Asia has developed in Australia in a variety of contexts.

For most Australians the term 'Asia' refers to the areas of Northeast Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan) and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Burma) and this reflects the focus of Australian business and official interest. The ASAA uses a more comprehensive reading of the term to include the countries of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Himalayan States) and the area more generally referred to as the Middle East (West and Central Asia: including Israel, Lebanon, Turkey). The term Asia is a geographic and historic construct rather than a cohesive social or cultural unit. It is a European derived descriptor which, while convenient as a shorthand label, inevitably leads to anachronistic and inadequate generalisations about culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse countries[2]. It is only recently that Asians themselves have started using the term: leaders such as Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mohamad Mahathir have propagated the notion of Asian values as distinct from Western values[3].

Australia's public perceptions of Asia have been altering, as Asia itself has altered with the emergence of newly independent states in Asia, and the greatly increased economic power of particular Asian countries.

In the period preceding the establishment of the ASAA, Australian involvement in conflicts in Asia had contributed to a view of Asia as a place of poverty, war and threatening Communism. The domino theory depicted Australia as at the end of a row of countries headed by China, likely to fall to Communism. Australia contributed arms and troops to conflicts in Korea (1950-53), Malaya (1955-60), Malaysia (1963-66), and Vietnam (1965-72), but largely as a result of a foreign policy linked to those of the great western powers[4]. As Australia came to terms with newly independent Asian states, no longer colonies of the west, it was also confronted by withdrawal of British troops from east of Suez after 1966, and US President Richard Nixon's unexpected normalisation of relations with China[5].

Mixed with trepidation about Asia there have been steps towards positive integration with that region: growing trade (especially with Japan), the abolition of the White Australia Policy; and increased immigration from Asia. With the election of the Whitlam government, there were dramatic changes in Australia's official relations with Asia: the abandonment of the anti-communist GMD government of Taiwan, diplomatic recognition of the PRC and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), and withdrawal of remaining military units from South Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore. The government accepted without protest communist governments in South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in 1975, and also accepted the forcible absorption of East Timor into the Republic of Indonesia during the same year[6]. Broadly Australia was (at the official level at least) thinking positively and sympathetically about Asia, and Australian relations with Asia.

It was in this dramatically new environment of Asia-Australia relations that the ASAA was formed. The official view that Australia must recognise its geographical location within Asia, and the political, social and most particularly economic implications for policy formulation, has developed during the time of the ASAA's operation.

The period in which the ASAA was formed saw the abolition of race as a criterion for the immigration policy by the Whitlam government[7]. Although Asian immigration is nowhere near as high as quoted by unreformed White Australia apologists, it has nonetheless increased substantially. In 1972-1973 the total number of Asian born immigrants to Australia was marginally more than 7 percent[8], a figure which has since risen to about 34 percent in 1996[9]. This increase is partially attributable to resettlement of Asian refugees, a process initiated by the Fraser government in 1975[10].

In the period since the formation of the ASAA foreign students studying in Australia have become increasingly significant. In the mid-1980s it was estimated that around 200 000 overseas students, almost all from Asia, had graduated in Australian tertiary institutions since WW2[11]. Under the Colombo Plan, inaugurated in 1950, Asian students trained in Australian educational institutions. This plan had an 'aid' tone and by the early 1980s was being phased out. Since that time many thousands of young Asians have continued to receive secondary and higher education in Australian schools, colleges and universities with the majority now full-fee paying. The 44 000 overseas students in 1990 were estimated to be contributing, through their tuition fees and living expenses, export income for Australia worth around $270 million[12].

While the education of Asians in Australia has been expanding the education of Australians about Asia has been growing too, but hardly at the speed needed. An ASAA sponsored report on Asian education in Australia released in 1980 concluded that it was limited in scope and in some areas even declining[13]. In the 1980s the overall level of undergraduate study of Asia-related subjects remained stationary. In terms of languages, there had been a strong growth in the numbers studying Japanese and a small increase in the numbers studying Chinese, but a concomitant decline in Indonesian. In 1988 less than 2 percent of the total undergraduate student load in universities and Colleges of Advanced Education was in Asia related or Asian language subjects[14]. The mid-1980s did see a commitment, at least in the rhetoric, from state and national Australian governments, to expand the study of Asian languages and cultures with the aim of having an 'Asia-literate' population by the year 2000[15].

In the period under review the most remarkable transformation in Australian perceptions of Asia has been the change from the view of Asia as a threat to Australia to being a place for business opportunity[16]. The 1970s were a period of remarkable growth in Japan's economic power with a slower but equally remarkable economic growth in Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. By the late 1960s Japan was Australia's principal trading partner, but as other economies emerged the Australian government was forced to pay greater attention to other Asian countries[17]. During the 1980s China, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan also steadily increased their trade and investments in Australia[18], such that by the beginning of the 1990s almost half of Australia's exports were to Asia[19].

The view of Asian countries as economic tigers has had negative consequences. The increased migration, tourism, investment, trade and even educational linkages with consequent enlivening of tastes in food, clothes, sports and entertainment, medicine and religion enjoyed widespread political and social support though by no means universal appreciation[20]. The debate generated by Professor[21] Geoffrey Blainey (University of Melbourne) and more recently by Pauline Hanson (Independent MP for Oxley, Qld) has shown a readiness by many Australians to blame Asians for changes in social conditions and to argue against Asian immigration[22].

This thesis looks at an organisation which has been (or should have been) at the centre of Australia's remarkable reorientation towards Asia. The ASAA's goals have been to join together all Asianists in Australia, not only those involved in tertiary and secondary education, and to bring an awareness and interest in Asia to the general Australian community as well as promoting Australian scholarship both domestically and overseas. How effective has the ASAA been in meeting its goals? In what areas has the ASAA (rather like Australia itself) failed to meet its Asia-related goals, or only partially achieved them? And what are the reasons for the ASAA's mixed successes?

Formation of the ASAA

The ASAA was established formally in May 1976 with the adoption of its constitution at a conference in Melbourne, though a national organisation of Asian scholars had been on the minds of some Australian Asianists since the beginning of the decade if not before. At the 28th International Congress of Orientalists in Canberra on 8 January 1971, Professor Arthur Basham had chaired a special meeting of Australian and New Zealand Asianists and it was agreed then that in principle a society to represent Australasian specialists in all branches of Asian studies be established[23]. That the organisation was not formally established until five years later can be attributed to the inherent difficulty of forming a group encompassing such a wide range of interests and bringing together a scattered population of members. As well, integrating the interests of existing Asianist bodies each with its own but more limited scope became a stumbling block[24].

An interim working committee was elected at the 1971 Meeting[25]. It met three days later and determined to form an Australian society by expanding and restructuring the Oriental Society of Australia (OSA). That small group based at Sydney University had formed in 1956 and was already recognised as the Australian affiliate of the International Congress of Orientalists. The plan involved constitutional changes to the OSA to make it a genuinely national organisation and to allow it to have affiliated branches[26]. An 'Asian Society of Canberra' had been formed already in October 1970 in anticipation of amalgamating with the OSA to form the genesis of a larger organisation[27]. Negotiations with the OSA proceeded slowly and by 1973 the 1971 interim committee finally determined that the OSA did not want to have its organisation so substantially altered. The OSA did not want to sacrifice its position as a small cohesive society with an interested local membership[28]. It was especially protective of its journal which had begun publication in 1960 and to which members attributed a prestigious international reputation[29]. In particular there was a conflict between the academic culture of these traditional orientalists with a European tradition reliant on classical languages and texts, and the newer US model integrating social sciences and Asian area studies[30].

The interim committee met again on 23 July 1974 at the behest of Professor John Legge and decided to organise Australia's Asianists to meet at the 1975 ANZAAS Conference to establish a national and entirely new Asia Society[31]. At this stage New Zealand had already formed its own group[32], and the benefits of an Australian rather than Australasian group were evident if the group was to have a role in lobbying government[33]. In the meantime two organisations of Asianists had been formed in Brisbane, and the South Asian Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand (SASAANZ) had become well established[34]. Its role within the ASAA was to become a major constitutional issue[35]. The establishment of these groups with a narrower focus was usurping some of the potential roles seen for an Australian Association and an impatience from various Asianists to organise a wider body was felt[36]. The final decision, to form a separate and new body, represented a watershed in Asian studies in Australia as a shift away from the classical approach[37].

Australian Asianists were encouraged to attend a meeting on the 20th of January 1975 at the ANZAAS Conference and the participants included representatives from libraries, two commonwealth departments and over sixty academics representing most states of Australia[38]. The meeting unanimously passed a motion that an 'Asian Studies Association of Australia' be established, and an interim working party was set up convened by Dr Anthony Reid[39]. Its two basic tasks were to organise a national conference of Australian Asianists at which the Association could be formally established and to revise the draft constitution presented by John Legge[40]. A series of newsletters were sent out commencing in March 1975 at a stage when the ASAA had 'no constitution, no regular membership, no subscriptions and no officers except Dr Reid'. Reid fulfilled the roles of convenor of the interim working committee, secretary, treasurer, and editor of publications[41]. The constitution finally adopted in May 1976[42] had a broad framework allowing for diverse regional and disciplinary interests. Under the Constitution the objectives of the Association were to promote the teaching and research of Asia through publications, increasing personal contacts, and conferences, as well as serving as a professional body representing the interests of scholars and teachers in the field of Asian studies to governments and in the community. The Association particularly wanted to contribute towards an understanding of Asia in the community at large[43].

After its provisional establishment in 1975 the ASAA had over 1000 names on a file card system and began sending out the Newsletter to over 600 people[44]. By March 1976 the Association had over 200 members[45] and this had risen to about 450 in 1978[46] and 600 in 1979[47]. Membership continued to rise, to around 750 by the 1980s[48], but dropped towards the end of the decade to about 620[49]. Membership has risen sharply since with around 900 members in 96/97[50].

The initial proposal was for a broad membership in the ASAA[51], but academics very quickly dominated both the general membership and representation on Council[52]. Perhaps it was inevitable that academics should become involved in running the organisation since its operations have always been largely underfunded and there has been a reliance on voluntary effort with formal and informal financial support from universities. Throughout there has been a predominance of social scientists, and despite the range of scholars working in diverse areas of Asian studies many may nonetheless see the ASAA as an establishment organisation run by familiar senior academics[53]. The biennial conferences of the ASAA, held since 1976, have played a role in the perception of the Association as an academic organisation, functioning as a professional support group for Asian studies. Conferences have been a major activity of the Association providing a forum for meeting and interacting with colleagues as much as for the presentation of new research.

Within the predominantly academic membership, subgroups have been created and two of these warrant separate consideration. The Women's Caucus of the ASAA has reflected trends within Feminist movements in academia and internationally and will be discussed fully in chapter six. The Southeast Asianists who have been dominant over other regions will also be dealt with separately (chapter five). These groups both represent a narrowing from the early agenda of inclusive breadth in the Association. At various stages other groups, such as the state branches have been formed, but these have been variously successful: for instance by 1994 the Tasmanian branch was the only state group still operating[54]. The strength of the Tasmanian group may well be attributable to distance from the general activities of the Association and also its formation from the Asian Studies Teachers Association of Tasmania (ASTAT) which had represented Asianists in Tasmania[55]. Regional studies groups such as the Malaysia Society and the Japanese Studies Association of Australia have also been affiliated with the ASAA.

One of the issues which has remained unresolved in the ASAA is the relative importance of promoting its educational goals, whether through Asian languages, through Asian studies generally, or through Asia related information in other disciplines[56]. The philosophy which helped to keep the ASAA cohesive in its early days was that of interregionality and interdisciplinarity, themes that have increasingly been phased out of conferences[57].

One of the groups the ASAA has failed to attract is primary and secondary teachers and this has been a cause for concern, since students need to be excited as early as possible about Asia, and perhaps because the ASAA has had little to offer teachers beyond the rhetoric of support. Conferences have often been held at times inappropriate to teachers and may have been perceived as too esoteric[58]. Teachers have also had their own organisations[59]. Nonetheless there have been a curriculum officer of the Association[60] and teachers' representatives on Council[61] but there has never been a strong pre-tertiary education cadre centrally involved in the Association[62]. In 1984 it was recognised that rather than hope for teachers to join the ASAA, it might be more effective for the Association to lobby for pre-tertiary teaching of Asian subjects[63]. Following the formation of the Asian Studies Council with its special emphasis on school education, the ASAA lost interest in teachers[64] and despite occasional efforts to recruit more teachers[65], their interests have been neglected as the ASAA developed strength at a tertiary and federal level.

Another specific group that the ASAA wished to coopt were librarians and archivists. An Information Resources working group was set up in 1980 to monitor library resources in Australia[66], and strong links with the Australian National University and the National Library of Australia were developed[67]. Library related panels have been held at the biennial conferences, but as with secondary teachers there has been a tension over whether librarians can be regarded as proper academic players[68].

The ASAA has attempted to be different things for different people: for one group an academic forum, for another a political pressure group. It has been variously successful in lobbying, but with the exception of its role in the formation of the Asian Studies Council can be characterised by ambitious plans but often limited outcomes. The major successful activities of the ASAA, a journal published three times a year, the biennial conferences and seminars, several publications series and lobbying to improve the status and quality of Asian studies, all reflect a public spirited membership and dedication particularly of Council members who have often served over periods of years. The role of the ASAA journal, the Review[69], has become less important as a forum for news and views and more important as an academic forum, and this reflects changes over time in membership, leadership and the socio-political context.

The ASAA is an organisation that has been most useful to its own members, most of whom have been academics. It has successfully fostered the academic enterprise, through the Review, the publications series and conferences. The Association has been less successful in promoting Asian studies more widely and in developing an understanding of Asia in the community at large. This is perhaps inevitable in an association in which most work performed is voluntary, and with the problem of the scattered membership. Arguably it is remarkable that the ASAA has achieved as much as it has, and that it remains a cohesive, lively and dedicated organisation.

Footnotes

[1] Chandler, D, 'Why the schools are neglecting Asian studies - and why it matters, The National Times, August 31 to September 6, 1980.

[2] Broinowski, A, The Yellow Lady: Australian Impressions of Asia, (2nd ed), South Melbourne, 1996, pxiii. 'What is Asia'?' is a perennial issue for all Asianists and was formally debated by the ASAA as recently as 1994 at a special session of the Tenth Biennial ASAA Conference, Murdoch University, 13-16 July, 1994. Chan, A, 'Recalcitrance and Denial: 'Asia' and Asian Studies in Australian Universities', Meridian, vol14, no2, 1995, pp99-110, pp108, 110.

[3] FitzGerald, S, Is Australia an Asian Country?: Can Australia survive in an East Asian future?, St Leonards, NSW, 1997, pp39-40.

[4] Wicks, P, pp573-585, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p577. Ingleson J, pp610-620, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p616.

[5] Broinowski, A, The Yellow Lady: Australian Impressions of Asia, (2nd ed), South Melbourne, 1996, pp130, 194. Wicks, P, pp573-585, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p580.

[6] Wicks, P, pp573-585, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p581.

[7] Wicks, P, pp573-585, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p581.

[8] Coughlan, J and Wicks, P, pp596-609, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p602.

[9] The figures for the 1996/1997 financial year are, Southeast Asia: 13.2%, Northeast Asia: 17.6%, Southern Asia: 6.5%. Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Immigration update for the June quarter 1997, Canberra, 1997. Note that these figures include those Asian born immigrants who are not of Asian ancestry, for instance Indonesian-born immigrants with a Dutch ancestry. Coughlan and Wicks suggest that about one in six Asian-born immigrants is of European ancestry. Coughlan, J and Wicks, P, pp596-609, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, pp602-603.

[10] Wicks, P, pp573-585, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p582.

[11] Ingleson J and Walker D, pp287-324, in Meaney, N (ed), Under New Heavens: Cultural Transmission and the Making of Australia, Port Melbourne, 1989, p316.

[12] Wicks, P, pp573-585, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p582. Coughlan, J and Wicks, P, pp596-609, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p596.

[13] Asia in Australia Education: Report of the Committee on Asian studies of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, Volume 1 Discussion and Recommendations, Canberra, 1980, piii.

[14] Asia in Australian Higher Education: Report of the Inquiry into the Teaching of Asian Studies and languages in Higher Education, submitted to the Asian Studies Council, Kensington, NSW, 1989, pp64, 122. Garnaut, R, Australia and the Northeast Asian ascendancy : report to the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, 1989, p306.

[15] Asian Studies Council, A National Strategy for the Study of Asia in Australia, Canberra, 1988, p20.

[16] Mackie, JAC, 'Foreword', ppv-vii, in Broinowski, A, The Yellow Lady: Australian Impressions of Asia, (2nd ed), South Melbourne, 1996, pv.

[17] Wicks, P, pp573-585, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p583. Ingleson J, pp610-620, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p616.

[18] Ingleson J and Walker D, pp287-324, in Meaney, N (ed), Under New Heavens: Cultural Transmission and the Making of Australia, Port Melbourne, 1989, p316.

[19] Ingleson J, pp610-620, in Mackerras, C (ed), Eastern Asia: An Introductory History, Melbourne, 1992, p610.

[20] Broinowski, A, The Yellow Lady: Australian Impressions of Asia, (2nd ed), South Melbourne, 1996, pp184, 216.

[21] Throughout the thesis a person's title where known (as at the time) is given but only the first time he or she is mentioned.

[22] Broinowski, A, The Yellow Lady: Australian Impressions of Asia, (2nd ed), South Melbourne, 1996, p232.

[23] Basham, AL, 'An Introductory Note', ASAA Conference booklet, 1976. In folder labelled 'Conference 1976', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 1 of 6.

[24] Reid, A, 'The Asian Studies Association of Australia', NZASIAN 3 (1976), pp30-31. Private papers of Anthony Reid.

[25] Basham, AL, 'To introduce the newsletter', Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, vol1, no1, March 1975, pp1-2, p1.

[26] Letter from JD Legge to Anthony Reid, 22 October 1974. Private papers of Anthony Reid.

[27] Legge, J, 'ASAA's Formation - A Twentieth Birthday Account', Asian Studies Review, vol19, no1, July, 1995, pp83-90, p84.

[28] Letter from JD Legge to Anthony Reid, 22 October 1974. Private papers of Anthony Reid. Legge, J, 'ASAA's Formation - A Twentieth Birthday Account', Asian Studies Review, vol19, no1, July, 1995, pp83-90, pp85-86.

[29] Basham, AL, 'To introduce the newsletter', Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, vol1, no1, March 1975, pp1-2, p1. Davis, AR and Stefanowska AD (eds), Austrina: Essays in Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Founding of the Oriental Society of Australia, Sydney, 1982, pvii-viii.

[30] Conversation with Anthony Reid, Canberra, 10th February 1997. McKay, EM, pp177-199, in Chandler, DP and Ricklefs, MC (eds), Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Indonesia: Essays in honour of Professor JD Legge, Clayton, Vic, 1986, p193.

[31] Letter from JD Legge to Anthony Reid, 22 October 1974. Private papers of Anthony Reid.

[32] Basham, AL, 'An Introductory Note', ASAA Conference booklet, 1976. In folder labelled 'Conference 1976', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 1 of 6.

[33] Conversation with Anthony Reid, Canberra, 10th February 1997.

[34] Legge, JD, 'Notes on the Attached Draft Constitution', 17 December 1974. MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 2 of 6.

[35] See Chapter Five: Regional Balance.

[36] McKay, EM, pp177-199, in Chandler, DP and Ricklefs, MC (eds), Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Indonesia: Essays in honour of Professor JD Legge, Clayton, Vic, 1986, p194.

[37] Conversation with Anthony Reid, Canberra, 10th February 1997.

[38] McKay, EM, pp177-199, in Chandler, DP and Ricklefs, MC (eds), Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Indonesia: Essays in honour of Professor JD Legge, Clayton, Vic, 1986, p194.

[39] 'Asian Studies Association of Australia. Minutes of a meeting held in the H.C. Coombs Lecture Theatre at 5:40 pm on Monday 20 January, 1975'. Draft. MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 2 of 6. Letter from Anthony Reid to Gungwu Wang, 9 December 1974. Private papers of Anthony Reid.

[40] 'Asian Studies Association of Australia Working Committee: Report on the period ending May 1976'. In folder labelled 'ASAA Conference 1976', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 2 of 6.

[41] The Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, vol1, no1, March 1975 to vol2, no3, March/April 1977. Basham, AL, 'To introduce the newsletter', Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, vol1, no1, March 1975, pp1-2, p2.

[42] First National ASAA Conference, University of Melbourne, 14-16 May, 1976.

[43] Reid, A, 'Asian Studies Association of Australia Draft Constitution', ASAA Conference booklet, 1976. In folder labelled 'Conference 1976', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 1 of 6.

[44] 'ASAA membership', Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, vol1, no3, March 1976, p8.

[45] Mackie, JAC, 'Issues for Asianists', Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, vol1, no3, March 1976, pp26-30, p28. The ASAA has an individual and institutional membership category with provision for students and (since 1988) retirees. Some fluctuations occur in reported membership figures as a result of new members joining and lapsed members rejoining at biennial conferences Black, I, 'Secretary's Report to the General Meeting of the Asian Studies Association of Australia held at the University of Sydney, 15 May, 1986', ASAA Review, vol10, no1, July, 1986, pp70-71, p70. 'ASAA Council Meeting 27-28 May 1988'. Private papers of John Ingleson.

[46] Ingleson, J, 'ASAA Council Meeting 30 November 1984 Secretary's Report'. Private papers of John Ingleson.

[47] Letter from Wang Gungwu (ASAA President) to Professor JJ Auchmuty, 1 May 1979. In folder labelled 'AC Committee FitzGerald and others to 1980', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 3 of 6.

[48] Letter from John Ingleson to J Ronayne (Dean, Faculty of Arts, UNSW), 29 April 1983. Private papers of John Ingleson. Ingleson, J, 'ASAA Council Meeting 30 November 1984 Secretary's Report'. Private papers of John Ingleson.

[49] 'Secretary's Report for ASAA Council Meeting 3-4 March 1989'. Private Papers of Helen Jarvis.

[50] Hooper, B, 'Annual General Meeting 1996: President's Report', Asian Studies Review, vol20, no2, November, 1996, pp173-175, p173.

[51] 'Minutes of the first meeting of the working committee of the provisional Asian Studies Association of Australia, in the Menzies library, ANU, at 1.30 pm on 21 January, 1975'. MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 2 of 6.

[52] Welch, I, 'Schools and the ASAA', Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, vol2, no2, December, 1976, pp1-3, p1. Letter from JAC Mackie to John Ingleson, 9 July 1979. In folder labelled 'ASAA 1978/79', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 2 of 6.

[53] Conversation with Susan Blackburn, Sydney, 4th October 1997 Drake, PJ, 'Brief Impressions of the 1982 ASAA Conference', ASAA Review, vol6, no1, July, 1982, pp14-15, p14. Macknight, CC, 'A Missing Generation', ASAA Review, vol11, no3, April, 1988, p57.

[53] Council Minutes, 28 August 1994. (http://www.ssn.flinders.edu.au/asian/council/94-3.htm) (15/2/1997).

[55] Letter from Philip Eldridge (ASTAT President) to John Ingleson, 13 November 1984. Private papers of John Ingleson. McKay, E, Asian Studies Association of Tasmania', ASAA Review, vol9, no2, November, 1985, p82.

[56] McKay, E, 'ASAA Matters: Letter from the President', ASAA Review, vol13, no2, November, 1989, pp59-61, p60. Policy Working Party ASAA, 'Policy: Issues and Options', Asian Studies Review, vol18, no1, July, 1994, pp117-135, pp117, 120-123, 126-130.

[57] Conversation with Jamie Mackie, Canberra, 4th June 1997. Conversation with Jim Masselos, Sydney, 1st September 1997.

[58] Mackerras, C, 'The Role of the ASAA and Issues in Asian Studies', Asian Studies Review, vol17, no1, July, 1993, pp167-170, p170. Marr, DG, '1988 ASAA Conference: Convenor's Report'. Private papers of John Ingleson. Conversation with Elaine McKay, Canberra, 4th June 1997.

[59] Ingleson, J, 'ASAA Council Meeting 30 November 1984 Secretary's Report'. Private papers of John Ingleson. For instance the Asia Education Teachers' Association formed in 1973 in NSW, and the Association for the Promotion of Asian studies (Victoria), formed in 1974. 'Asian Teachers' Associations', Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, vol1, no2, July 1975, pp16-17. Walsh, A, 'School News: Asia Education Teachers' Association (Aust.) Inc. An overview', Asian Studies Review, vol18, no1, July, 1994, pp137-138, p137.

[60] Conversation with Elaine McKay, Canberra, 4th June 1997. 'Report of the National Curriculum Officer's visit to Melbourne, August 24, 1981'. In folder labelled 'Council and Executive meeting 1980-1982', MS8054, 13/9/88 consignment, box 1 of 6. Inglis, C, 'Report of the National Curriculum Officer For ASAA Council Meeting 29 November 1985', (attachment for item 11 for Meeting of Council, Friday 29 November 1985, at the University of NSW). Private papers of John Ingleson.

[61] 'ASAA News May Council Meeting from ST Leong, secretary', ASAA Review, vol2, no1, July 1978, pp18-22, p18.

[62] Phone conversation with Jim Wilson, 9th September 1997.

[63] 'Minutes of the meeting of the council of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, held on Friday November 30 1984 at the University of NSW'. Private papers of John Ingleson.

[64] 'Minutes ASAA Council Meeting, Wednesday 10 February 1988 at the ANU'. Private papers of John Ingleson. Conversation with Elaine McKay, Canberra, 4th June 1997. Phone conversation with Jim Wilson, 9th September 1997.

[65] 'Council Meeting 2/91 6 December 1991 Minutes'. In folder labelled 'ASAA Conference 1992', MS8054, 24/7/92 consignment, box 1 of 4. In 1991 President Colin Mackerras had set up a local committee in Brisbane to link the ASAA and secondary school teachers, as a means of bettering the channels of communication between the secondary and tertiary sectors. 'Notes from the Annual General Meeting - August 1991', Asian Studies Review, vol15, no3, April, 1992, pp124-125, p124. Policy Working Party ASAA, 'Policy: Issues and Options', Asian Studies Review, vol18, no1, July, 1994, pp117-135, p131.

[66] 'Implementing the FitzGerald Report', ASAA Review, vol6, no2, November, 1982, pp23-25, p24.

[67] Conversation with Helen Jarvis, Sydney, 4th August 1997. Hooper, B, 'Annual General Meeting 1996: President's Report', Asian Studies Review, vol20, no2, November, 1996, pp173-175, p173.

[68] Bishop, E (Chair, WGIR), 'Asian Studies Association of Australia Working Group on Information Resources: Report to Council 1984', nd. Private Papers of Helen Jarvis. Conversation with Helen Jarvis, Sydney, 4th August 1997.

[69] The Asian Studies Association of Australia Newsletter (vol1, no1, March 1975 to vol2, no3, March/April 1977) was replaced by the ASAA Review in July 1977. In April 1990 (vol13, no3) the name was changed to the Asian Studies Review. When the journal of the Association is referred to generically the term Review will be used.

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