Digging up the past: Frank Clune, Australian historian and media personality

Frank Clune (1893–1971) was a prolific author and the most popular Australian historian of the first half of the twentieth century. This article surveys Clune’s relationships with his ghost-writer, P R Stephensen, and with a later mentor, Justice J V Barry, along with Clune’s role as a press and radio personality in mid-century Australia. In doing so, it reflects on Clune’s mission to popularise Australian history and open up sources for its study, touching on Clune’s occasional reflections on indigenous history, and the critical reception of his work.