Festschrift initiative: Celebrating Emeritus Professor Ruth Fincher AM

Abstract

Professional and society journals often publish obituaries in which colleagues reflect on and celebrate the lives of others-in this instance, geographerswho are no longer with us and who have been closely associated with a discipline and sometimes also with a country or region. Less often do journal editors and contributors curate collections of works that recognise and reflect upon the sustained contributions made by colleagues who are still with us. Festschrift offerings such as the kind I am thinking of are almost unheard of in this journal. We begin to remedy that gap now because such offerings show colleagues' influences on us and the discipline. To those ends, this inaugural offering celebrating Ruth Fincher initiates what I hope will be the first of many in coming years.

Festschrift initiative: Celebrating Distinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick AM

“…As an outgoing associate editor of this journal, I am privileged to prepare this Festschrift editorial and virtual issue celebrating the five-decade academic career of one of Australia's most distinguished geographers, Jamie Kirkpatrick. This second Festschrift follows closely Elaine Stratford's inaugural celebration of another distinguished Australian geographer, Ruth Fincher (Stratford, 2022). Both offerings are considered catalysts for future Festschrifts in this journal.…”