Media releases

Federation University Australia has appointed Professor Erik Eklund as its new Director of the Gippsland Studies Centre.

Professor Eklund has recently returned to Australia after a term as the Keith Cameron Professor of Australian History at University College Dublin, Ireland.

“We are starting an ambitious new agenda for the Centre. The University Library has taken carriage of the Gippsland Studies collection, and the Centre will focus on research,” Professor Eklund said.

“We want to re-engage with the community, and we are currently recruiting research students to tackle topics of relevance to Gippsland.

“We will be covering historical research but also broadening out to include regional studies. It will be a great journey and we hope we can take the Gippsland community along with us.”

Professor Eklund grew up in Wollongong before taking his first University job in Newcastle. He moved to Victoria and the Gippsland Campus in 2008. His research covers the history and heritage of regional Australia.

"We have a great opportunity to look at Gippsland and compare it with other Australian and international regions,” Professor Eklund said.

“There is a wealth of knowledge to be had from understanding ourselves and also studying the experiences of other similar regions.”

During his time in Dublin he was able to visit a number of European regional centres such as the Ruhr in Germany and Upper Silesia in Poland.

“In places like the Ruhr they are leading the way in creating pollution-free, safe, and useable landscapes where large industries once stood. They are world leaders in industrial heritage and have some stunning museums and parks located on former industrial sites,” Professor Eklund said.

“With the announcement of the closure of the Hazelwood Power Station we need to think about how we might remember, conserve and adapt the industrial sites that helped shape the Latrobe Valley.

“Life in the regions is fabulous but we all know that we have some major challenges confronting us. We want Federation University Australia and the Centre for Gippsland Studies to make a major contribution in dealing with those challenges.”