Only in fairly recent years has History and Philosophy of Science been
recognized - though not always under that name - as a distinct field of
scholarly endeavour. Previously, in the Australasian region as
elsewhere, those few individuals working within this broad area of
inquiry found their base, both intellectually and socially, where they
could. In fact, the institutionali- zation of History and Philosophy of
Science began comparatively early in Australia. An initial lecturing
appointment was made at the University of Melbourne immediately after
the Second World War, in 1946, and other appointments followed as the
subject underwent an expansion during the 1950s and '60s similar to that
which took place in other parts of the world. Today there are major
Departments at the University of Melbourne, the University of New South
Wales and the University of Wollongong, and smaller groups active in
many other parts of Australia, and in New Zealand.