This site reflects a range of past and current research interests and projects with which I have been involved.
The current research interests are concerned with the history of policies, legislative and administrative arrangements in Western Australia (WA), from its establishment as a British colony in 1829 to the recent present, that have been adopted to regulate and manage the problematic use of alcohol.
The current research, related to a partially completed PhD (commenced the University of WA), focusses on the period since 1900 2010.
It is worth remembering the State of Western Australia achieved statehod in 1890 and only federated in 1901 when it joined with the other former British colonies of South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland to form the Commonwealth of Australia.
What is the the meaning of Il faut cultivar notre jardin?
“We must cultivate our garden” is a quote from the last line in Volataire’s novel Candide (published in 1759). See an interpretation of its meaning in the School of life (Facebook post)[1]
We cannot hope to fix the whole world, however much we might wish to. Peace often comes from tending a smaller, more manageable corner of life, our relationships, our work, our daily surroundings. In cultivating our own “garden,” we create a quiet space of meaning within a wider, unsettled world.
Another interpretation can be found in Verlyn Klinkenborg’s article The rural life; Candide’s advice, published in The New York times (18 June 2004)[2]
The most famous line in Voltaire’s ”Candide” is the final one: ”We must cultivate our garden.”
That is Candide’s response to the philosopher Pangloss, who tries again and again to prove that we live in the best of all possible worlds, no matter what disasters befall us.
Ever since ”Candide” was published in February 1759, that line has seemed to express a reluctance to get involved, an almost quietist refusal to be distracted by the grand chaos of earthly events.
And that reading might make sense, if Candide hadn’t already lived through a lifetime of woe. In fact, that line is the summation of Candide’s wisdom, his recognition that no matter how you choose to explain the world, the garden still needs cultivating.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/reel/2828675984157211
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/opinion/the-rural-life-candide-s-advice.html