Secretary

           Jo-Anne Cameron

Russell Turner (Life Member) & National Archives of Australia representative

Kay Bishop (Patron)

Associate Professor Deborah Henderson (Patron)

Dr Brian Hoepper (Patron)

Emeritus Professor Colin Mackerras (Patron)

Emeritus Professor Robert (Bob) Milns AM (Patron – Vale)

The contribution of Emeritus Professor Robert (Bob) Milns AM, BA Hons (Leeds), MA (Camb.), DLitt (Hon) (Qld) to scholarship in Classics and Ancient History and the teaching of these at a tertiary level are well known and rightly lauded. Likewise, many know that he was a much respected, honorary member of the Greek community in Brisbane. The contributions Bob Milns made to encouraging school students to be passionate about the subjects he loved and supporting the professional growth of secondary school Ancient History teachers are less well known but deeply respected and fondly remembered by the Executive, Patrons and members of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association (QHTA).

A graduate of Leeds and Cambridge universities, Robert David Milns first taught in Australia at the University of New England until he was appointed Professor of Classics at the University of Queensland in 1970. A world-renowned expert on Alexander the Great and his father Philip II of Macedon, Bob’s involvement with Queensland secondary students began shortly after his appointment to UQ, via the medium of ABC School Radio broadcasts. A few small groups of secondary students were also given the opportunity to experience university type seminars on campus. From the late 1980s onwards, thousands of students attended Ancient History seminars organized by QHTA and conducted by Bob and his colleagues. In addition to these, thousands more school students and their teachers were drawn to UQ to spend time in the RD Milns Antiquities Museum (named for him in 2007 to acknowledge his contribution to its growth) or to attend the Ancient History Days run by the Friends of Antiquity. Bob’s passion for the ancient world was infectious and many who went on to study at UQ recall how their own love of Ancient History and Classics was inspired by hearing him speak.

This connection with school students continued, even as his health declined. In November 2019 Bob spoke at the QHTA Awards evening. He was there to present the award named for and sponsored by him, the ‘RD Milns Award’ for the best Ancient History essay in QHTA’s annual Historical Writing Competition. As had been the case on so many previous occasions, his short address on Plato, which had been prompted by the winning student’s essay, engaged, informed and delighted the assembled group. His warmth and ease with everyone were measures of a man, whose enormous intellect was matched by his genuine interest in and ability to speak with all. To see Bob Milns surrounded by deeply interested secondary and primary school students was to see to the heart of a man whose vibrancy, sincerity, kindness and personal magnetism knew no boundaries.

The contribution Bob made to the professional growth of secondary school Ancient History teachers was similarly significant. By 1977 he was a Patron of QHTA. From that time until his death on 20 February 2020, Bob made an enormous contribution to members, as he did for so many other groups. His articles in The History Teacher and later Q History covered topics from ‘Source Criticism and the Ancient World’ (1981) to ‘Alexandria – Alexander’s Greatest Legacy’ (2019). Additionally, he was a frequent and popular presenter at the QHTA State Conference and other teacher seminars and workshops. Those who read those articles and attended those sessions recall how much they enjoyed and benefitted from Bob’s breadth and depth of knowledge and his willingness to share these in his own inimitable way. Bob Milns was certainly no distant, staid academic. He was always warm, sometimes mischievous and frequently wickedly funny. Quite simply, he was a joy to be around.

Bob Milns’ passion for deepening our understanding of the ancient world stretched far beyond the halls of academia. School students and teachers alike, who were privileged to have known or simply met him, are all richer – not only because of his unparalleled ability to impart his extraordinary knowledge and wisdom but more importantly because his warmth, kindness and generosity touched our lives in countless, unforgettable ways. What a legacy! Vale Bob Milns.