Ross is an experienced and entertaining speaker, and has given hundreds of talks about his books.
He is essentially a story-teller, in both his books and his lively, illuminating presentations about them.
Major cultural institutions have invited Ross to speak:
- Australian War Memorial
- National Library of Australia
- National Gallery of Australia
- National Archives of Australia
- National Museum of Australia
- State Library of Victoria
- State Library of New South Wales
- Shrine of Remembrance
- Museum Victoria
- various universities
His wide-ranging audiences have also included writers’ festivals, libraries, bookshops, regional art galleries, historical societies, schools, history teachers’ conferences, Probus and Rotary groups, Lions Clubs, U3A classes, the National Trust, Legacy branches, mechanics institutes, diverse cultural associations, and a variety of clubs such as the Naval & Military, Lyceum, Australian, Savage, Athenaeum, Melbourne, Geelong and Kelvin Clubs.
He has also provided several presentations to each of the following: the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, the Sydney Institute, the Royal United Services Institute, the Melbourne Cricket Club, and the Australian Senate’s lecture series.
As well as hundreds of writer’s talks about his books, Ross has delivered addresses at statue unveilings and graveside commemorations, has launched books by historian colleagues, and has presented lectures on these topics:
“Australian Perceptions of the Great War: The Soldiers’ Vote in the Conscription Referenda, 1916 and 1917”, Australian War Memorial History Conference, February 1981
“Tom Price and His Contemporaries: Labor Leadership Then and Now”, Tom Price Memorial Lecture, May 1992
“The Life and Times of a Biographer: Writing About Pompey Elliott”, Australian War Memorial History Seminar, April 1995
“Vision Denied: Labor and the Constitution”, Australian War Memorial History Conference, September 1995
“Ben Chifley”, ALP Life Members Group, November 2000
“Australians in 1918: Shaping the World as Neither Before nor Since”, Independent Scholars Association of Australia Conference, October 2002
“When Australia Led the World: Chris Watson, J.K. McDougall and the World’s First National Labour Government”, J.K. McDougall Lecture, May 2004
“Chris Watson, Tom Price and Pioneering Labor Governments”, Tom Price Memorial Lecture, July 2004
“Writing Biographies”, National Museum of Australia, September 2008
“Remembering Australia’s Great War”, State Library of Victoria, April 2009
“Ted Larkin and Australia’s Lost Generation of World War I”, Labour History Conference, September 2011
“Chris Watson”, Labour History Conference, September 2011
“‘Dangers and Problems Unprecedented and Unpredictable’: The Curtin Government’s Response to the Threat”, Military History and Heritage Victoria Conference on Australia in 1942 “In the Shadow of War”, April 2012
“Reflections on the Centenary of World War I”, INASA Conference, December 2012
“Pompey Elliott’s Letters”, National Library Conference on “Writing the Great War”, June 2015
“Retrieving Ted Larkin (1880-1915): Outstanding Footballer, Acclaimed Organiser, Original Anzac”, Tom Brock Lecture, September 2015
What people are saying…
A very warm thank you for visiting our region to talk about Pompey Elliott. I have been receiving some wonderful feedback all day from staff and attendees alike! Your talk was very well received at all four locations … You are an engaging and passionate speaker and a natural performer.
– Jess Saunders (co-ordinator regional programs, Goldfields Library Corporation)
* * * * * * * * *
I have had the privilege of hearing Ross McMullin speak on many occasions, on a wide variety of topics.
Ross has given many talks at the Shrine of Remembrance, all of which have attracted large crowds of varying ages and all of which have been met with great enthusiasm and praise. Our feedback is always so positive that I never hesitate to book him again within our extensive public programs schedule.
With his vast and very detailed understanding of history and politics, Ross is an engaging, educative, inspiring and provocative speaker. His award-winning books are indicative of his knowledge and passion for military history and related topics. I would not hesitate to say that Ross is one of the Shrine’s favourite and most popular speakers.
– Denis Baguley (chief executive, Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne)
* * * * * * * * *
Ross McMullin draws together a rare combination of fine scholarship and a singular verve in presentation. When he shared his work on “The Remarkable Pompey Elliott” to The Hancock Society in Melbourne, it was deemed by collective consent to be the most enjoyable and interesting talk in our ten-year history. The quality of the speakers on our roll make that quite a compliment and yet a fair assessment of Ross’s ability to adopt an accent of an earlier time and to put flesh on the bones of great yet forgotten Australians. Ross was the first speaker in our history to be asked to present a second time. We hope to have him back for a third.
– Glenn Matthews (secretary, The Hancock Society)
* * * * * * * * *
I was fascinated by Ross McMullin’s presentation. I could have listened for hours.
– Paul Sheahan (former Test cricketer and school principal; chairman, Melbourne Cricket Club)
* * * * * * * * *
Ross McMullin recently addressed a capacity audience at Osborne House, North Geelong. Ross kept everyone spellbound as he recounted the lives of the “lost generation” of young men killed in World War 1, and his ability to capture the imagination of the listeners was evidenced by the empathetic and spontaneous responses drawn from the crowd. As organiser of the event, the feedback I received contained adjectives such as “terrific”, “fabulous”, “marvellous” and “thankyou – that was great!” – all of which I heartily endorse. Ross is a gifted and very entertaining speaker with an obvious passion for his topic.
– Cheryl Scott (treasurer, Osborne Park Association Inc)
* * * * * * * * *
Ross McMullin is a pre-eminent historian and an entertaining speaker. I have had a long association with Ross and admire his wonderful story-telling, evident in his acclaimed books and his superb presentations to a variety of audiences, which are invariably well received.
– Lambis Englezos (discoverer of the graves of missing soldiers at Fromelles)
* * * * * * * * *
Ross McMullin’s writings and presentations combine exemplary scholarship with popular appeal. He investigates major periods and movements in Australian social and military history, but focuses on the extraordinary and ordinary individuals who shaped or responded to events. Readers visualise and empathise with his characters, and audiences are both entertained and moved by his well-illustrated presentations and evocative readings of significant characters’ statements.
– Dr Rosalie Triolo (president, History Teachers Association of Victoria)