Laurie Hergenhan was appointed Reader in the Department of English at the University of Queensland in 1971. He made a major contribution in the research and teaching of Australian literature. He was founding Director of the Australian Studies Centre, University of Queensland, 1979-1982; foundation editor of Australian Literary Studies; and has written widely on Australian literature. In 1992 he received the A.A. Phillips Award for his contribution to the study of Australian literature; in 1993 he became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities; in 1994 he became an Officer of the Order of Australia; in 1995 he was made an Emeritus Professor. He retired from the University of Queensland in 1993. He died on 21 July 2019.

Cecil Hadgraft was born 8 June 1904 at Melbourne, brought up at Rockhampton, winning an open scholarship to the University of Queensland at 16 years of age. Cecil Hadgraft was a senior lecturer and reader in the English Department at the University of Queensland. He was a prominent Australian literary critic and historian.