Professor Paul Ashton
Consultant Historian
Paul is an historian, educator and writer who has been working with communities, cultural and other industries, government, the media and universities for over 40 years. An engaged former academic who has worked to democratize history and heritage, he was awarded the History Council of NSW’s Annual Citation in 2020 for outstanding contributions to Australian history and the internationalization of public history.
Paul was a founding member (and later President) of the Professional Historians Association (NSW & ACT) and has been a member of the Heritage Advisory Committee of the NSW Heritage Council on numerous occasions from the 1990s until 2025. He has also been a member of the NSW Premier’s Annual History Awards and Chair of the Dictionary of Sydney. Paul has authored, co-authored, edited and co-edited numerous books, reports and other publications and co-curated two exhibitions.
On any Saturday
You’ll find Paul on the bay walk at Drummoyne or thereabouts with his partner or on a rainy-day walking around Birkenhead Point DFO down the road from where they live. His niece and her dog Ace take up a bit of time too.
Qualifications
BA Dip Ed (Hons) (Macquarie University) 1983
PhD (Macquarie University) 1999
Pet Patrol
Ace
Ace Watson specialises is sniffing out erroneous detail in historical galleys. He also specialises in the botanical history of Sturt’s Desert Pee.
