William Edward Hanley Stanner - Career Post WW2

Career Post WW2

He continued his anthropological work after the war, becoming a prominent writer, lecturer and public advocate of the study and appreciation of Aboriginal society and its place in Australia.

Stanner's notable career postings post-World War II included:

• 1946 Department of External Affairs. This was a temporary appointment working with Sir Frederick Eggleston on a proposed South Seas Commission.
• 1946-47 Researcher: Papua-New Guinea, Fiji, West Samoa (Institute of Pacific Relations). This led to the delayed publication in 1953 of his first book South Seas in Transition.
• 1947-49 Foundation Director of the East African Institute of Social Research, Makerere Uganda.
• 1949-64 Reader in Social Anthropology, Australian National University. Resumed field work in Daly River and Port Keats in the Northern Territory.
• 1953-56 Australian Commissioner, South Pacific Commission.
• 1961 Convenor and Chairman, Commonwealth Conference on Aboriginal Studies.
• 1961-62 First Executive Officer, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.
• 1964-70 Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, Australian National University.
• 1967-77 Appointed to Commonwealth Council for Aboriginal Affairs.
• 1971 Emeritus Professor and Honorary Fellow, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Australian National University.
• 1972-74 Visiting Fellow, Research School of Pacific Studies.
• 1974-75 Special Adviser to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs.
• 1975-79 Department of Pre-history and Anthropology, Australian National University.
• 1977-79 Consultant to Northern Territory Land Commission.
• 1971-1981 Honorary Fellow, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS), Australian National University

Stanner also held a number of key leadership positions at the Australian National University including:

• 1954 Chairman of the Governing Body, University House, Australian National University.
• 1954-55 Bursar, University House, Australian National University.
• 1960-1981 Honorary Member, University House, Australian National University.