Doing something useful: William Donald and Harold Timperley
About
This presentation tells the story of William Donald (1875-1946) and Harold Timperley (1898-1954), Australian journalists with long careers in China as advisers. Both were entangled with the Nationalist government during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). With their presence and role enabled by the expansion of the British Empire into China, they developed a self-confident belief in their ability to shape the country’s future. Working as advisers, however, did not live up to their expectations. Both Donald and Timperley left China disappointed, but while Timperley returned to Australia, Donald did not. This presentation shows why and makes use of Donald’s archive assembled by historian Winston George Lewis, as well as the publications of Donald and Timperley, to tell the story of their careers as journalists and advisers. Our presenter Dr Tess Gardner was awarded a PhD from ANU in 2023 for her thesis on Australian journalist-advisers in early twentieth century China.Date
Thursday 11 September 2025 5:45 PM - 8:00 PM (UTC+10)Location
Charles Darwin University
Level 8, 815 George Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
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Doing something useful: William Donald and Harold Timperley
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