Bruce McComish Fund for Economic History

Bruce McComish established this fund in 2002 in order to encourage research in economic history.

The generous benefaction aims to encourage rigorous research in economic history, which questions conventional wisdom and seeks new empirical evidence and interpretations. The fund may be used to fund prizes, scholarships, visiting lecturers and other initiatives that encourage the use of analytical and quantitative techniques to establish ‘what really happened and why’ in business, finance, national economies or the international economy.

Mr McComish is a businessman and author of Antilogic: Why Businesses Fail while Individuals Succeed (John Wiley & Sons, London, 2001). It is hoped that others will be interested in helping to advance the same purposes. The Trinity College Foundation will receive and gratefully acknowledge any further donations which may be made to this Fund or to support its purposes.

McComish Prize for Economic History

The prize was established in 2003 for the most original recent research in the field of Australian or international economic history undertaken in Australia or New Zealand. The Prize is awarded for work of high academic quality and originality which fulfils the purposes of the Funds, and which may be published or unpublished.

2004: Simon Ville, The Rural Entrepreneurs: A History of the Stock and Station Agent Industry in Australia and New Zealand (Cambridge: Campbridge University Press, 2000)

2006: William Coleman, Selwyn Cornish & Alf Hagger, Giblin's Platoon (Canberra: ANU E Press, 2006).

Bruce McComish Research Fellowship

The Fellowship is valued at $5,000 and is awarded to enable either a post-graduate student or a more established scholar to undertake research in economic history at the Monash Centre in Prato, Italy. The Fellowship is awarded in consulatation with Professor Bill Kent, the Director of the Monash Centre, a former Trinity tutor.

2004: Mr Val Chow, Accenture.