Great science, uncomfortable history: Sir Gustav Nossal and the long tail of eugenics

Book says one of Australia's most eminent scientists promoted discussion of eugenics in the 1960s and 70s, but not that he supported racist ideas - and researchers praise his thorough commitment to reconciliation and racial justice

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A new book about the historic influence of eugenics at the University of Melbourne has shed fresh light on the career of one of Australia's most decorated scientists, Sir Gustav Nossal.

Ross Jones, who co-edited Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne, writes in the book that the membership of the Eugenics Society of Victoria, which had deep ties to the university, read like a who's who of the academic, judicial, scientific and educational elite of Melbourne".