Brian Coman was formerly a research biologist. He returned to the Academy in his retirement to pursue a long-held interest in the Humanities. In addition to many scientific papers and book chapters, he has published a history of the rabbit in Australia, Tooth and Nail (Text, 1999 & 2010), three collections of essays (A Loose Canon, Connor Court, 2007; Things in General, Carbarita Press, 2020; Ephemera, Carbarita Press, 2025), and two books (with Harry Oldmeadow) on the Coliban and Campaspe Rivers in central Victoria. A another book, Against the Spirit of the Age (Connor Court) was published in 2015. Other books include a history of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo (co-author) and a book on the ‘backyard’ birds of Bendigo (with Graham Hill).
For many years, he was a regular contributor to Quadrant Magazine. He was awarded his second PhD in 2006 for a thesis entitled Ecology, Modernity and Tradition. Brian’s many interests include literature, philosophy, bird-watching, woodwork and book-binding.
Harry Oldmeadow was formerly Associate Professor of Religious Studies at La Trobe University Bendigo where he taught for many years in the Humanities program. He is a leading authority on the perennialist movement while his other interests include the spiritual encounter of East and West, primordial traditions such as those of the Australian Aborigines and Native Americans, and critiques of modernity. He has published widely in these fields and in philosophy, film and literature. Harry’s many books include Frithjof Schuon and the Perennial Philosophy (2010) and Black Elk, Lakota Visionary (2018). He has travelled widely and is a keen bushwalker and photographer.
Brian and Harry have been colleagues and friends for many years. They both live in Bendigo.
