Andrew Hughes describes himself as a “(very) mature-aged student”. The 53-year old PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide is also working on a (very) unusual thesis. He’s undertaking research exploring notions of manhood among Australian men who lived and worked in positions of authority with Indigenous Australians and Papua New Guineans.

Andrew wants to interview about 20 men from a variety of careers (patrol officers, community advisers, missionaries, police, teachers etc). Participants must be Australian citizens over the age 18. The study is confidential, so nothing said will be reported in a way that will identify individuals unless people agree to be identified, and it will be based on interviews about people's reminiscences, experiences and attitudes concerning masculinity and ethnic identity.

Andrew hopes the study may reveal personal understandings of black - white frontier relations of the type usually unrecorded in official histories. It may also disclose how masculinity is sensed and measured in relation to other people and so could be of assistance in understanding conflict in inter-cultural situations.

This is a worthwhile project, which has been approved by the University of Adelaide Human Research Ethics Committee as well as by Andrew’s supervisors in the University’s Department of Gender, Work and Social Inquiry.

You can contact Andrew Hughes c/o Department of Gender, Work and Social Inquiry, University of Adelaide SA 5005. Telephone (08) 8303 3743 or email him here.  I’ll be sticking up my hand to assist and I hope qualified male readers will contribute to furthering knowledge about ‘frontier relations’ by doing the same.