I.
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P. J. KEATING, MP
OPENING OF MANNING CLARK CENTRE, ANU, CANBERRA
22 FEBRUARY 1994
I count it as a great honour to be asked to open this
Centre tonight I count the late Manning Clark as a
great Australian.
And I may as well say at the beginning, I have absolutely
no doubt that his work and reputation will long out live
his recent detractors.
Generosity will always triumph over meanness. Creativity
over negativity.
I used to pay Manning Clark an occasional visit in
Tasmania Circle on my way home from work.
I was by no means a close friend and on the face we had
not much in common.
Manning was a man of great formal learning. I left
school at
Manning went to Melbourne Grammar, Melbourne University
and Oxford.
I went to De La Salle, Bankstown, Belmore Technical
College, the Federated Municipal and Shire Council
Employees Union, and the Australian Labor Party.
I am a politician. Manning was an historian.
Perhaps for these reasons we talked less about Australian
politics than Australian possibilities, less about
Australia's history than Australia's future.
In fact we found that we had a gnnd dpa in common. 41303
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I know Manning has developed a reputation as a pessimist,
but I never found him to be that. It is true that he had
deep awareness of opportunities lost opportunities for
building a more just society. A kinder and more creative
society. A society with a more independent view, a more
mature identity.
He was disappointed by what he believed had been promise
squandered by faint hearts and narrow minds.
That did not mean he had no regard for what Australians
had achieved, or love for the character and traditions of
the place. His affection for Australia was huge it
defined him.
And he had enormous regard for Australian achievements.
Surely, no one left more evidence of that regard than he
did in his six volume history, his countless other books
and articles on Australian history and in his immense
contribution as a teacher of Australian history.
This Centre will not only bear his name, but I hope carry
on his work.
Among such distinguished academic company and people who
knew Manning Clark very well over a long period, it would
not be appropriate for me to even attempt an appreciation
of Manning's work.
I can only say that from what I know of it and what I
knew of him, I drew a lot of inspiration.
He wanted to believe in Australia and, through all the
doubts he had, he did believe.
And I confess that there have been times in the last two
years when I have wished that he was alive to see some of
the things which are happening in Australia now.
I mean in part the initiatives we have taken on issues
broadly related to our national identity.
I also mean the stand we have taken and the legislation
we passed in response to the High Court decision on
native title and I must say I wish he had been in
Darwin the weekend before last to see a well appreciated
multicultural football match between Collingwood and the
Aboriginal All Stars.
But I also believe Manning Clark would have appreciated
what I think is a new confidence and optimism, a new
sense among Australians of their capacity to carve out a
good society and a creative role in the world.
In other words, I think he would be excited by the signs
that in the 1990s we might be about to truly live up to
both our best traditions and our unique potential.
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As I said, I'm not an historian not in the sense that
Manning Clark was and many of the people here are. But
I've been in the Labor Party for 35 years and in the
Labor Party we are & Ul historians.
We know how important having a story is it's just about
the most important thing there is.
Because Manning Clark, as a teacher and writer, did more
than anyone else to unravel and tell that story I know
how much Australia owes him.
Which is why I said at the beginning that I count it as a
great honour to formally open this Manning Clark Centre
and that is what I now formally do. 460.5