Robert Kelly
Lecturer, National Centre for Australian Studies
BA (Monash), MTourism (Monash), Grad.Cert. Professional Education (Monash)
View contact details in Monash Staff Directory
Biography
Rob Kelly has been teaching in the Contemporary Australia unit since 2005. He is a passionate believer in taking students out of the classroom, and heads up a successful field trip program, taking students to the MCG, the Immigration Museum, the Old Melbourne Gaol, and on an Aboriginal Heritage Walk of the Royal Botanic Gardens over the years. Rob has extensive experience in conducting tours of outback Australia. He has made many pilgrimages to Broken Hill with the Contemporary Australia students, and is considered to be something of a local in the town.
Research Interests
Research-wise, Rob’s research interests include the history of Kryal Castle, Ballarat, gaol tourism (and other areas of “dark tourism”, ecotourism in Estonia, and particularly battlefield tourism. Rob is keenly interested in examining the attitudes of Australian tourists towards visiting key Australian Battlefield sites overseas. Because of his close association with Broken Hill, Rob has an interest in outback tourism. He is currently working on his Masters by Research, and intends to undertake a PhD on battlefield tourism.
Keywords
Australian studies, dark tourism, battlefield tourism, outback tourism, gaol tourism.
Teaching
- AUS1060 Contemporary Australia
- AUS1010 Out of Empire
- AUS2070/AUS3070 Australia in a Globalising World
Community Engagement
Community and industry engagement is also one of Rob’s roles in his work at NCAS. He organises events ranging from seminars and public lectures through to conferences. Rob also hopes to further develop existing links between NCAS and our key exchange student providers from the United States and Europe at an undergraduate level.
