Researcher

Biography

Matthew Birchall is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Laureate Centre for History & Population. His work concerns the economic and intellectual history of colonisation in Australia and New Zealand, with a particular focus on chartered companies. In 2022, he received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and was awarded the Royal Historical Society's Alexander Prize for best scholarly article based upon original research. 

At the...view more

Matthew Birchall is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Laureate Centre for History & Population. His work concerns the economic and intellectual history of colonisation in Australia and New Zealand, with a particular focus on chartered companies. In 2022, he received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and was awarded the Royal Historical Society's Alexander Prize for best scholarly article based upon original research. 

At the Laureate Centre, Matthew is writing a series of articles examining the relationship between population and colonisation in classical political economy. He is also working with Dr Leo Chu on Wastelands in Modern World History, examining how ideas of empty space have shaped global history from the sixteenth century onwards. 

Prior to joining the Laureate Centre, Matthew was a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, the country's leading think tank, where he brought historical perspectives to contemporary policy debates.   


My Grants

Visiting Scholar, Stout Centre for New Zealand Studies (declined) 2022

Economic History Society Bursary 2020

Max Planck Summer Academy for Legal History Scholarship 2019

Australian Historical Association Conference Bursary 2019

Canada-UK Foundation Travel Award 2018

Holland Rose Award 2018

Smuts Memorial International Scholarship 2016


My Qualifications

PhD in History, The University of Cambridge (2022).

M.Phil. in Political Thought & Intellectual History, The University of Cambridge (2015).

MA (Hons) in International Relations and Modern History, The University of St Andrews (2014).


My Awards

Alexander Prize, Royal Historical Society 2021 for best published scholarly journal article or essay based upon original historical research

Mary Boyd Prize, New Zealand Historical Association 2021 for best article on any aspect of New Zealand history published in a refereed journal

John Higley Prize, Australian and New Zealand Studies Association of North America 2019 for best paper by a graduate student

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Location

Room 350, Level 3, Morven Brown Building
UNSW SYDNEY 2052

Publications

by Mr Matthew Birchall