Professor Frank Bongiorno AM (OP 1986) was welcomed back to the College as a guest speaker at the Term 2 Assembly and is the most recent recipient of the Old Paradians' Association Distinguished Old Paradian Award.

Frank is arguably Australia’s leading historian. He completed Year 12 in 1986 and was an outstanding student; a member of the Prefect Team and the recipient of a major Year 12 Award, the Br JL Kelty Cup for Leadership.

Frank was accepted into an Arts Degree at the University of Melbourne with the intention of entering the teaching profession. He graduated with Honours and was able to secure a scholarship to Australian National University where he completed his Doctoral studies (PHD) in Labour History.

Frank's studies led him to becoming a lecturer at several universities in Australia and overseas and is now a Professor of History at ANU.

In the 2019 Australia Day Honours, Frank was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his significant service to tertiary education in the field of history.

Frank is the author or co-author of 5 books. The People’ Party: Victorian Labor and the Radical Tradition, 1875-1914, 1996; The Little History of the Labor Party, 2011; The Sex Lives of Australians: A History, 2012; The Eighties: The Decade that Transformed Australia, 2015. The most recent book published in 2022, Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia. Frank is President of the Australian Historical Society and regularly contributes scholarly writings and articles in a range of forums.

Frank was able to share some reflections of his time at the College. Overwhelmingly, gratitude was the common theme.

We were very proud and delighted. Frank is a most deserved recipient of the Distinguished Old Paradian Award.