Staff Profiles

John has conducted extensive research and fieldwork on the heritage and material culture of the Goldfields Pipeline in Western Australia for which he was given a Vice Chancellors Award for Excellence in 2000.

He has been directly involved in the production of over 16 heritage reports the most recent of these were the ABC Sound Broadcasting and Television Studios in Perth (1960) in 2007,  the Marsala House by the architect Iwan Owanoff in 2008 and Fonty's Pool near Manjimup in 2010.

Overall, his research includes the topics of place making, heritage, cultural landscapes, memory and war commemoration with particular focus on war memorials and memorialisation. Specific research interests include connections between commemorative practices and the places and architecture that support commemorative activity.

 He is an active volunteer in state heritage matters and is a member and Councillor of the National Trust and a member of the Heritage Council of WA.

Specific research and expertise includes:

- The Architecture of Commemoration including war memorials and war memory.
- The history of architecture in Western Australia

This research has been disseminated though publications and through conferences such as

The European Association for Studies on Australia conferences 'Joyful Reconciliation: Landscape, Water and the Eastern Goldfields Railway', Lecce, Italy, 2001,'Caring for the populace: disease, sanitation and the Perth Colonial Hospital', Aveiro, Portugal 2000; 'Memory, commemoration and the design of Western Australian war memorials', Hungary, 2005,

"Commemoration, meaning, and heritage of Western Australian war memorials" Eighth Australasian Urban/Planning History Conference, Wellington, New Zealand 9-11 February 2006;

"War Memorials in Western Australia: place, setting and design", Thinking Society, Thinking Culture Conference, 2007. University of Western Australia.

 "‘A shrine where earthly grief may comfort seek’. The Western Australian State War Memorial", When the Soldiers Return Conference 28-30 November 2007 The University of Queensland, Brisbane.

"'Well and truly planted’: Honour Avenues in Western Australia", 9th Australasian Urban History/Planning History Conference – Sea Change? Historical responses to new and renewed urban landscapes. Queensland Australia, 5-7 February 2008.

"The HMAS Sydney II Memorial as a narrative of memory and trauma", presented to the NZ Geographical Society Conference 2010, 5-8 July, Christchurch, New Zealand.

"Anzac Memories: Albany as a pilgrim landscape",  SAHANZ Annual Conference 2011 Brisbane.

"Recent directions in war memorial design" 9th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, 8-11 June, Universidad de Grenada, Grenada Spain

"In memory of: The War Memory Boom in Western Australia", 11th Australasian Urban History/Planning History Conference –Urban Transformations: booms, busts and other catastrophes. Western Australia, 6-8 February 2012.

Research includes: "Remembering the Wars: Community Significance of Western Australian War Memorials.". This was a funded ARC linkage grant with the State Branch of the RSL.

The Burden of Anzac: Soldier Settlement in Western Australia.

The Anzac Way: a landscape of commemoration.

'Remembering the Wars': a database of Western Australian war memorials.

Lakhnu Rural Development Project - India

from above research are:

John Stephens (2008)  'The Importance and Care of Western Australian War Memorials, Black Swan Press; Perth.

John Stephens (2009) 'The Ghosts of Menin Gate: Art, Architecture and Commemoration' Journal of Contemporary History Vol 44 No1.

John Stephens (2009) 'Remembrance and Commemoration through Honour Avenues and Groves in Western Australia', Landscape Research, 34 (1), 125-141

John Stephens (2010) 'Remembering the Wars': Documenting memorials and war commemoration in Western Australia, The Journal of Architecture  15(5).

John Stephens (2012) 'New Directions In War Memorial Design' International Journal of the Humanities, (in Press)

Architecture and Culture

Architectural Dissertation

Offshore teaching at Limkokwing University College of Creative Technology and Hong Kong University-Space.

War Commemoration, Architectural History, Architecture and Culture, Heritage and the Architecture of Commemoration.

Thesis titles include:

• Remembering the wars: community meaning of Western Australian war memorials
• The convicts' contribution to the built environment of colonial Western Australia between 1850-1880.
• Community Museums in Western Australia – survival or extinction?
• Architectural Concepts and Design Criteria for Socio-Cultural Islamic Centres: their Role in Developing and Integrating West Australian Muslims.
• Past lives, present values: historic cultural values in the South West forests.
• Seismic Design of Traditional Bhutanese Architecture: Through Cultural Influence and Construction Techniques.
• Nature and Sense of Place in the Rockingham Area.

Manager of Architecture Course at Hong Kong University SPACE.

Member of the Australia, Asia, Pacific Research Institute (AAPI).

Books (Authored, Research)

• Stephens, J. 2008. The Importance and Care of Western Australian War Memorials Remembering the Wars, 1 Edition. Curtin University of Technology: Black Swan Press.

Book Chapters (Authored, Research Quality)

• Stephens, J. 2009. Changing Landscapes of War Commemoration in Western Australia. In People Place and Power: Australia and the Asia Pacific, eds Dawn Bennett, Jaya Ernest, Miyume Tanji, 10-27. Perth, Western Australia: Black Swan Press.
• Stephens, J. 2007. Community Meaning and Heritage of Western Australian War Memorials. In Heritage and Planning History Case Studies from the Pacific Rim, eds Caroline Miller & Michael Roche, 104-124. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Refereed Articles (Scholarly Journals)

• Stephens, J. 2010. 'Remembering the wars': Documenting memorials and war commemoration in Western Australia. Journal of Architecture 15: 637-650.
• Stephens, J. 2009. 'The Ghosts of Menin Gate': Art, Architecture and Commemoration. Journal of Contemporary History 44: 6-26.
• Stephens, J. 2009. Remembrance and Commemoration through Honour Avenues and Groves in Western Australia. Landscape Research 34(1): 125-141.
• Stephens, J. 2007. Memory Commemoration and the Meaning of a Suburban War Memorial. Journal of Material Culture 12: 241-261.
• Stephens, J. 2003. Poisonous Atmospheres: Ventilation and the late Nineteenth Century Building. Architecture Science Review 46: 3-11.
• Stephens, J. 2003. The Architecture of Discipline - The Perth Drill Hall. Fabrications: The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand 13(1): 63-77.
• Stephens, J. 2002. Karalee Rock: The Formation of Place and Identity. Urban Policy and Research 20: 87-99.

Fully written papers (Refereed Conference proceedings)

• Stephens, J. 2011. Anzac memories: Albany as a pilgrim landscape. 'Audience' SAHANZ XXVIII Brisbane 2011, 07/07/2011. Brisbane: Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand.
• Stephens, J. 2008. 'Well and Truly Planted' Honour Avenues of Western Australia. 9th Australian Urban History/Planning History Conference 5th-7th February - Sea Change, 05/02/2008. Coldundra Queensland: University of the Sunshine Coast.
• Stephens, J. 2006. Commemoration, Meaning and Heritage of Western Australian War Memorials. 8th Australasian Urban History/Planning History Conference - Past Matters, 09/02/2006. Massey University, Wellington, NZ: Schol of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University.
• Stephens, J. 2006. The Gate of Eternal Memories: architecture art and remembrance. XXIII Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia & New Zealand - Contested Terrains, 29/09/2006. Fremantle, WA: Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand.
• Stephens, J. 2003. Putrification and Pestilence: The Reticent Progress of sanitary Architecture in Nineteenth Century Perth. 20th Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, 01/10/2003. New South Wales: Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand.

Minor Creative Works

• Stephens, J. 2005. K S Inglis, Sacred P_laces: War Memorials in the Australian Landscape. Western Australia: Australian Public Intellectual Network.