NIEUWENHUYSEN AM, John Peter

Nieuwenhuysen AM

John Peter

Monash University is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Emeritus Professor John Nieuwenhuysen AM, who died on 8 December 2024 aged 87 years.

Professor Nieuwenhuysen was the foundation Director of the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements from 2002 to 2011, where he was responsible for providing leadership in the advancement of innovative research, developing relationships and research collaborations within and beyond the University.

He was also actively involved in helping to establish the South African campus and providing mentorship to others. In 2012, he was appointed the fourth Director of the Monash Centre in Prato, Italy, and later chair of the board of the Centre’s Bill Kent Foundation.

In the 1990s he co-founded the International Metropolis Project and organised the 2007 International Metropolis Conference in Melbourne, the largest migration conference in the world, co-hosted by Monash.

Professor Nieuwenhuysen chaired four Victorian State Government Inquiries, three of which were translated into legislation. Of particular note was the Nieuwenhuysen Review in 1986, a study of the liquor licensing laws in Victoria which transformed the hospitality industry by creating a European-style café culture of eating and drinking, for which he received the title “Special Legend” from the Victorian food and wine industry.

Born, raised and educated in South Africa, Professor Nieuwenhuysen was sensitive to the inequities of apartheid, which largely underpinned his distinguished career as an academic, economist and public administrator dedicated to promoting immigration, cultural diversity and equity.

He also held positions with the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, the Commonwealth Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research, and the Australian Multicultural Foundation.

Professor Nieuwenhuysen was a graduate of the London School of Economics and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2003 for services to independent public and private sector research, liquor law reform and for his contribution to debates on a wide range of issues. He was granted an Honorary Fellowship Award from Monash in 2017 and was appointed Emeritus Professor at Monash in 2011.

Monash University acknowledges with gratitude the life and work of Professor Nieuwenhuysen and extends its sincere sympathy to his wife, Sue and daughters, Sarah, Anna and their families, on their great loss.