Edward Dyason and His Sojourn with Australian Economists, 1924–39

Edward Dyason, mining engineer, financier and internationalist, was actively engaged in the introduction of commerce and economics into the curriculum of the University of Melbourne in the 1920s. His involvement was driven by a commitment to public service and the belief in science as the engine of human progress; it was spurred by his experience of the disruption of the pre-World War I economic order and the increasing integration of Australia into a world-wide economy. Dyason’s engagement with the early Australian economists encompassed the organizational and intellectual development of the discipline, his own development as a self-made economist, and his promotion of the economist’s role in government, the university and business. The subsequent incorporation of the ideas of J. M. Keynes into Australian economic policy owes much to Dyason’s grasp of these ideas, his constancy in supporting D. B. Copland in incorporating them into Australian economic policy during the Depression, and his advocacy for such policy with the other economists and the general public. This paper draws upon Dyason’s diaries, letters and publications, in addition to other secondary material, to argue his claim to be acknowledged as one of the early Australian economists rather than, as is the case at present, an anomalous albeit interesting figure.