Julia Hurst

Julia Hurst is an Indigenous Postdoctoral Fellow with the Indigenous and Settler Relations Collaboration in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. With heritage spanning Dharawal and Darug lands, her academic work bridges historical research and contemporary Indigenous issues in Australia.

Her research focuses on fundamental questions of Australian Aboriginal identity in the 21st century, with particular emphasis on historical population control policies and citizenship restrictions affecting Indigenous communities. Hurst examines how government policies from the 1960s-1970s targeted Aboriginal women's fertility through coercive family planning programs, and how Western Australia maintained discriminatory citizenship requirements well into the 1970s.

Hurst's recent publications reveal disturbing patterns in Australian history where Indigenous populations were systematically targeted through eugenic policies disguised as 'family planning' and 'citizenship requirements.' Her work demonstrates how Aboriginal women faced government-sponsored birth control programs under the guise of 'choice' while operating within a context where their fundamental parenting rights were already severely restricted.

Her academic trajectory includes a PhD in Aboriginal History from the Australian National University (ANU), complemented by a Masters of Urban Planning and Bachelor of Arts. She has presented her research across local and international forums, working at the intersection of academia, arts, and corporate sectors to advance understanding of Indigenous experiences.