About David Gormley-O'Brien

David Gormley-O'Brien channelling Salvador Dali

Dr David Gormley-O'Brien is a writer and historian based in Woodend, Victoria. He is the author of the Becoming Australia historical fiction series, which includes An Attractive Naivety and Ashes and Sakura. Drawing on extensive historical research, his novels explore the events and people that shaped modern Australia through compelling, character-driven storytelling.

David enjoyed a long career as a university lecturer specialising in the history of philosophical and religious ideas in Late Antiquity. He completed both a Master of Philosophy and a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford, where his research examined philosophical and religious concepts of self-sufficiency and friendship in the Graeco-Roman world.

His writing now focuses on the human consequences of war, migration and national identity. Through historical fiction, he explores how the upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century shaped the lives of ordinary Australians and influenced the nation's evolving sense of itself. He is a member of Military History and Heritage Victoria.

Away from his writing desk, David enjoys gardening and restoring his 1973 Land Rover Series III. He is also a longstanding advocate for environmental sustainability, renewable energy and electric transport. He served for four years as President of the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group and was recognised as the Macedon Ranges Citizen of the Year in 2022. He currently serves as a volunteer Director of Macedon Ranges Community Enterprises, which operates the Community Bank Gisborne & District under franchise from Bendigo Bank.

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