Fiona Gibbons

Fiona completed her BA in Australian Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter in 2004 and completed her Master of Arts (History) part-time via distance learning with the University of New England, Armidale, Australia in 2011. She is currently registered on the part-time PhD programme here at UEA, as well as working full-time in the Postgraduate Research Service.

Fiona’s provisional thesis title is ‘Above the Brisbane Line: the place of the 1942 bombing of Darwin in historical memory’. For her Master’s dissertation - supervised by Professor Melanie Oppenheimer - she investigated the manner in which the bombings of Darwin were portrayed in the British media during 1942. The PhD thesis developed from this approach and investigates the ways in which diplomatic and social factors can influence the way in which historical events are commemorated over a period of time, using the bombings of Darwin as a focal point.

Australian Studies, Australian History, The Second World War in the Pacific, Commemorative History, imperial relations, Australian national identity, the development of the Asia-Pacific region.