Peter Coleman
Peter Coleman Robert Ellicott | |
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| Succeeded by | John Hewson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Peter Coleman 15 December 1928 Verna Susannah Coleman (née Scott) |
| Children | Tanya Costello Ursula Dubosarsky William Coleman |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney London School of Economics |
| Occupation | Writer, journalist |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in Australia |
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William Peter Coleman
Early life
Coleman was born in Melbourne, the son of Stanley Charles Coleman, an advertising agent, and Norma Victoria Tiernan. Moving to Sydney, he was educated at
After teaching English for a year in the
Political life
In 1968 Coleman was elected the
Coleman was then further promoted in June 1975 as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier Tom Lewis, in which capacity he served only five months until his promotion to Cabinet.[4] He was made a Minister of the Crown in October 1975 as the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Revenue. When Sir Eric Willis became Premier, Coleman was appointed to the revived office of Chief Secretary from January 1976. He served in Cabinet until the defeat of the Willis government in the May 1976 election, at which he retained his seat on a slightly increased margin of 52%.[9]
In opposition under Eric Willis, Coleman served as the Shadow Minister for Justice and Services.[11] On 15 December 1977 four party MPs declared that they would oppose Willis in a leadership ballot the next day. On 16 December 1977, Willis resigned and Coleman was elected as the leader by the party.[12] At the 1978 election, Coleman and the Coalition campaigned on a platform based around the spectre of "Whitlamism" and attempted to undermine the strong central leadership of Wran.[13] This failed to resonate with voters, and the election, which was later termed the "Wranslide", saw a massive defeat for the Opposition Coalition. Coleman himself lost his seat of Fuller to Hunter's Hill Municipal Council Alderman, Rodney Cavalier, a result that had been anticipated by some.[14][15]
In September 1979, Coleman was appointed as
Post-politics
On leaving politics, Coleman resumed his career as a full-time writer, publishing widely both journalism and books, including a major history of the intellectuals and the Cold War, The Liberal Conspiracy. The Congress for Cultural Freedom and the Struggle for the Mind of Postwar Europe[16] and biographical works on the Australian poet James McAuley, comic artist Barry Humphries, film director Bruce Beresford and economist Heinz Arndt. He also published a selection of poetry, a cookbook and a collection of his Quadrant essays, The Last Intellectuals. In 2008 Coleman assisted his son-in-law, Peter Costello, in writing and editing his account of his career: The Costello Memoirs: The Age of Prosperity.
During this period he also recorded interviews, held by the National Library of Australia as part of the oral history project, with leading Australian figures in journalism, arts, law, economics, philosophy and politics, including Hugh Atkinson, Garfield Barwick, Bruce Beresford, Jim Carlton, Madge Eddy, Charles Higham, Kenneth Jacobs, Eugene Kamenka, Michael Kirby, Kenneth Minogue, Barry Oakley, Desmond O'Grady, Clyde Packer, John Passmore, Peter Porter, Adrian Rawlins and Amy Witting.[17] He was a regular contributor to the Australian edition of The Spectator with a weekly column entitled 'Australian Notes'[18] and also contributed to The Australian and ABC programs. Coleman died on 31 March 2019.[19]
Honours
In 2001 Coleman was awarded the Centenary Medal.
Bibliography
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Books
- Coleman, Peter (1984). Memoirs of a Slow Learner. Pymble: ISBN 9781925138269
- Coleman, Peter (1963). Obscenity Blasphemy Sedition: 100 Years of Censorship in Australia. Brisbane: Jacaranda. Republished (2000) by ISBN 1875989722 [1]
- Coleman, Peter; ISBN 0170052753
- Coleman, Peter; ISBN 0858591375.
- Coleman, Peter (1980). The heart of ISBN 9780975801567 [2]
- Coleman, Peter (1989). The Liberal Conspiracy. The ISBN 0-02-906481-3. Preface [3]
- Coleman, Peter (1990). The Real Barry Humphries. London: Robson. Chapter One [4] "A bit of Stick"[5]
- Coleman, Peter (1992). Bruce Beresford: Instincts of the Heart. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
- —, ed. (1996). Double take : six incorrect essays. Melbourne: Mandarin.
- Coleman, Peter; Selwyn Cornish; Peter Drake (2007). Arndt's Story: the life of an Australian economist. Canberra: Asia Pacific Press. ISBN 9780731538102.
- Coleman, Peter; ISBN 978-0-522-85582-1.
- Coleman, Peter (2010). The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics. Sydney: Quadrant Books.
- Books edited
- Coleman, Peter, ed. (1962). Australian Civilization: A Symposium. Melbourne: F.W.Cheshire. Introduction [6]
- Coleman, Peter, ed. (1966). The Bulletin Book: A Selection from the 1960s. Melbourne: F.W.Cheshire.
- Coleman, Peter; James McAuley, eds. (1970). Vietnam: After the Moratorium. Sydney: H.R.Krygier.
- Coleman, Peter; Lee Shrubb, ISBN 0-07-022182-0.
- Coleman, Peter, ed. (1996). The Old Boys' Cookbook. Melbourne: William Heinemann.
- Coleman, Peter; et al., eds. (2000). A Return to Poetry (Anthology). Sydney: Duffy & Snellgrove.
Official reports
- Coleman, Peter (1970). Report on visits to foreign film & television schools, January 9 – February 7, 1970. Canberra: Film and Television School (Australia) Interim Council.
- Coleman, Peter, chairman (1976). Report from the Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly upon the appointment of Judges to the High Court of Australia, NSW Parliamentary Paper no. 53 1975. Sydney: NSW Government Printer.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Essays, interviews, chapters, lectures
- 'An Interview with Peter Coleman' Frank Devine, Quadrant May 2006
- ‘A Political Formation or No Roads to Damascus' (Cheshire 1963) in Australian Politics. A Third Reader edited by Henry Mayer and Helen Nelson.
- 'Ballade of Lost Phrases: James McAuley' from The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics, Quadrant Books, 2010. [7]
- 'Conservative without a Cause? Andrew Norton Talks with Peter Coleman.' Policy Autumn 1995.
- ‘From Fellow Travelling to Political Correctness' Political Correctness in South Africa edited by Rainer Erkens and John Kane-Berman. South African Institute of Race Relations, 2000.
- 'How I wrote 'The Liberal Conspiracy' from The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics, Quadrant Books, 2010. [8]
- 'I Thought of Archimedes' from The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics, Quadrant Books, 2010. [9]
- ‘Leaves from the Diary of a Madman' in Confessions and Memoirs edited by Central Queensland University Press, 2006. [10]
- ‘Political Cartoonists', 'Political Correctness', 'Political Journalists'
- The Oxford Companion to Australian Politics edited by Brian Galligan and Winsome Roberts, Oxford University Press, 2007.
- Preface to Cricket versus Republicanism and other Essays (1995) Quakers Hill Press, 1995.
- Preface and 'The Santamaria Story' The Bulletin Book. A Selection from the 1960s Angus and Robertson, 1963.
- 'The Patron State' Bert Kelly Lecture, 1995.
- 'The Phoney Debate' from Australia and the Monarchy: A Symposium, edited by Geoffrey Dutton, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1966.
- 'The Sad and Noble Music of Michael Oakeshott' from The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics, Quadrant Books, 2010.[11]
- 'The Usual Suspects. Quadrant at 50' Martin Krygier. The Monthly December 2006.
Critical studies and reviews of Coleman's work
- Robinson, Geoffrey (8 November 2022) "From Georges Sorel to Peter Costello: Peter Coleman and the Making of Australian Liberal Conservatism" Australian Journal of Politics and History 68(3) 447-466 https://doi.org/10.1111/ajph.12803=
- Martyr, Philippa (May 1996). "Civilised disagreement". Quadrant. 40 (5): 80–81. Review of Double take.
References
- ^ Chung, Laura (1 April 2019). "Peter Coleman remembered as 'distinguished writer and thinker'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ Oxford Companion to Australian Literature (1994) Hyde, Hooton, Andrews, OUP. http://www.answers.com/library/Australian+Literature-cid-17647929 "Peter Coleman" accessed 8 June 2012
- ^ a b "Mr (William) Peter Coleman (1928–2019)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Biography for Coleman, William Peter". ParlInfo Web. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Siding with the truth". www.newcriterion.com. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/politics-in-a-poetic-key/3327118 Transcript of interview with Alan Saunders and Dr Ian Tregenza accessed 6 June 2012
- ^ "Late-blooming writer told lost tales". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ "Left to Right" Christopher Pearson 31 July 2010 http://www.spectator.co.uk/australia/6173473/left-to-right/
- ^ a b Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Fuller". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ New South Wales; Coleman, Peter, eds. (1 April 1976). "Report from the Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly upon the appointment of Judges to the High Court of Australia". Govt. Pr. Retrieved 1 April 2019 – via Trove.
- ^ "Opposition Shadow Ministries from 1973". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-86287-659-0.
- ^ "Liberal Party advertisement: 'Coleman introduces the Liberal team with a plan of action for NSW'". Sydney Morning Herald 4 October 1978 pg 7. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
- ^ "All eyes will be on Fuller". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 October 1978. p. 2.
- ^ Troy Bramston, editor (2006) "The Wran Era" Federation Press, with a foreword by Neville Wran
- ^ Oshinsky, David M. (27 August 1989). "Cranky Integrity on the Left". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Retrieved 9 June 2012
- ^ Retrieved 26 June 2012 Archived 14 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Berkovic, Nikola (1 April 2019). "Truly great man of letters: Writer, intellectual and former politician Peter Coleman dies, aged 90". The Australian.Franklin, James (May 2019). "Peter Coleman: a rare understanding". Quadrant. Sydney. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "It's an Honour - Honours - Awards - A-Z of Awards - Centenary Medal". Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Secretariat - The University of Sydney". sydney.edu.au. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ "Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) entry for Mr William Peter Coleman". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
External links
- Peter Coleman on "Radical Students. The Old Left at Sydney University" Alan Barcan. Melbourne University Press [12]
- "What is Political Correctness" Peter Coleman [13]
- "The Devil and James McAuley" review by Peter Coleman, Weekend Australian 17 July 1999 [14]
- "James McAuley's 20 Quadrants" paper by Peter Coleman, Sydney University 2002. [15]
- "James McAuley: A Poet in Politics" Peter Coleman 1992. [16]
- "Ballade of Lost Phrases: James McAuley" from The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics, Quadrant Books, 2010. [17]
- "I Thought of Archimedes" from The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics, Quadrant Books, 2010. [18]
- "How I wrote 'The Liberal Conspiracy'" from The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics, Quadrant Books, 2010. [19]
- "The Sad and Noble Music of Michael Oakeshott" from The Last Intellectuals: Essays on Writers and Politics, Quadrant Books, 2010.[20]
- "All That Swagger – Robert Manne's Virtuous Trajectory" Peter Coleman, Quadrant 2005. [21]
- "Leaves from the Diary of a Madman" Peter Coleman 2006. [22]
- "The Bulletin, the Editor and The Cherry Orchard", Peter Coleman. Voices, Quarterly Journal of the National Library of Australia, Volume V11, Number 1, Autumn 1997, Pages 88–95.[23]
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