BERNARD IDCKEY 
(1931 - 2007) 
InMemoriam 
UDK 929 Hickey B. 
In the mid-1970s the Australian government began to stimulate departments of 
English at various European universities to include in their curricula the teaching of 
Australian literature. Literature Board of the Australia Council helped organize vari-
ous seminars and conferences, it provided some basic text-books and literary works, 
and also financially supported Australian university professors to give lectures at these 
institutions. The Department of English at the University of Ljubljana showed interest 
in developing these relations and Bernard Hickey was one of the first Australian guests 
at our university. Sad news that Bernard died on the last Sunday in July this year evoked 
in us the memories connected with our friendly and professional meetings. 
Bernard Hickey was born in 1931 in Queensland, Australia, and his ancestors 
came there from Ireland. Bernard was born in a working class family and his life-course 
207 
depended very much on his own intelligence and hard work. He finished his studies at 
Trinity College in Dublin and then taught for several years in England before he went to 
Italy, which became his second home. In 1968 he joined the University of Ca' Foscari 
in Venice as a Professor of Commonwealth Literature. Venice became his base for his 
visits to other European and Asian universities, but he was always glad to return there, 
because he was again and again fascinated by its beauty. In 1988 he was appointed as 
a Chair of English Litearture at the University of Lecce. He was not discouraged by 
this move although he had to start there right from the beginning not only as regards 
teaching of Australian literature, but as an initiator of a Centre for Australian Studies 
with its library which includes now more than 7,000 volumes on Australian literature. In 
Lecce, in this beautiful baroque city, in the deepest south of Italy, he organized in 1990 
a memorable conference of the European Association for Commonwealth Literature and 
Language Studies, which was attended by several hundred participants. 
Hickey's first visit to the Department of English, University of Ljubljana, took 
place in the late 1970s and he returned to Ljubljana a number of times. He always en-
joyed his stay in Slovenia, his discusssions of Australian literature with the staff of our 
department and our students. Everybody loved his lectures, which were intellectually 
stimulating, witty, full of humour and filled with his personal charm. He suggested we 
should invite to our Department some well-known Australian professors and writers 
(among them were also Dorothy Green, Veronica B_rady, Robert Brissenden, Laurie 
Hergenhan, Bruce Bennet, Michael Wilding, Tom Shapcott and some twenty others), 
who enriched our courses on Australian literature. He was also a member of the board of 
examiners for the doctoral thesis which Igor Maver was preparing in the eighties. When 
I organized a Symposium on Australian literature and culture at Lake Bled in September 
1982, the list of visitors included important Australian, European, and American scholars, 
academics like Doireann MacDermott, Barry Andrews, Brian Kiernan and a number of 
other well-known names. Bernard Hickey prepared a lecture for this symposium on the 
Australian writer Miles Franklin (his contribution was published in Australian Papers, 
Ljubljana, 1983), and he also wrote a paper on Lawrence Durrell for another collection 
of essays written as a tribute to the former editor of the review Acta Neophilologica, 
Professor Janez Stanonik (Literature, Culture and Ethnicity, Ljubljana, 1992), which 
I also edited. Because we knew how busy Bernard always was, his contributions were 
even more appreciated. We also thank him for having been a member of the Advisory 
Committee of our review. 
Bernard Hickey was really a person who divided his life between two continents: 
Australia and Europe. In a letter which he wrote to me from Brisbane on 6 Dec.l979 he 
described his impressions about his stay at the University of Queensland with the fol-
lowing words: "Dear Mirko, ... As for Australia: it has been splendid, and our Australian 
colleagues have a special regard for those of us in the field of Europe. My relationship 
is a double one, doubly enriching". However, in a letter Bernard wrote to me in 1986, he 
said: »Home again in Venice ... Hope you and Tom Shapcott had a nice time. My collec-
tion of books is growing so I hope your students can come over soon. We'll be in touch 
about a visit to Lju(bljana) ... All my very best from beautiful Venice«. When political 
disruption of Yugoslavia was increasing he expressed his worries and his optimism for 
our future: »We are very sorry to read of the crisis in your country. Please count on our 
208 
solidarity« (5 Jan. 1989). And this solidarity was also shown by the Australian govern-
ment when Slovenia became independent in 1991, and the Australian government was 
one of the first to recognize Slovenia as a sovereign state. 
Bernard Hickey was a real Australian cultural ambassador in Europe. He was a very 
warm person, an important scholar and a great friend. One of his personal characteristics 
was that he could influence with his joy of life people with whom he established good 
personal contacts and therefore many of us will miss him, his professional advice, his 
good-hearted humour and his friendship. 
Mirkolurak 
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia 
209