Chapter 2: Forward the Professors

Crawford's appointment as Professor of History at the University of Melbourne in 1937 proved a watershed. Inspired by his mentors, Crawford transformed the History School and expressed a genuine Australian consciousness in the country's first professional historical journal. Crawford's burgeoning political beliefs found expression in his approach to history when he became intensely interested in the struggle between 'freedom and necessity'. As the Spanish Civil War, the threat of fascism and the role of intellectuals in the public sphere inspired debate, the once politically reticent man became a more committed activist and a spokesperson. In 1938 Crawford joined the Australian Council for Civil Liberties under the political mentoring of the charismatic Brian Fitzpatrick. His life intersected with other notable figures - Kenneth Bailey, Douglas Copland, John Medley, Herbert Burton, Vance Palmer, James Barrett, Raymond Priestley, Kathleen Fitzpatrick and a young Manning Clark. His political awakening coincided with the press and the academy becoming critical of intellectuals who dared to challenge orthodoxies. Politics now played a more critical role in University selection. Those, like Esmonde Higgins, Brian Fitzpatrick and P.R. Stephensen who had 'strayed' found an academic career near impossible. During the debates on University national service and the National Registration Bill and as darkening clouds gathered over Europe, Crawford struggled with the implications of operating as a liberal intellectual who questioned prevailing political attitudes and expressed anxiety about academic independence.