Hyland Neil (Hank) Nelson was born on 21 Oct 1937 in Boort, Victoria. He undertook his BA (1958), DipEd (1959), BEd (1962) and MEd (1966) at Melbourne University. He then worked as a teacher and lecturer in Victoria 1960-1965. Nelson worked as a tutor at the Administrative College of Papua New Guinea 1966-1967, and a Lecturer in History at the University of Papua New Guinea 1968-1972. He completed his PhD (1976) on gold mining in Papua New Guinea at the University of PNG. Nelson's association with the Australian National University included positions as Research Fellow in History, Research School of Social Sciences 1973-1974; Senior Research Fellow in Pacific and Southeast Asian History, Research School of Pacific Studies 1975-1976; Fellow 1976-1981; Senior Fellow1981-1993; Professor in Pacific and Asian History 1993; Professor, History Program, Research School of Social Science 1994-1997. Nelson retired in 2002 and was appointed Professor Emeritus, Visiting Fellow, Division of Pacific and Asian History, and Chair, State Society and Governance in Melanesia Program at the Australian National University. His research focused mainly on the history of Papua New Guinea, looking at a wide range of themes including education, independence, mining, health, missionaries, World War Two and Australian POWs. Nelson died in Canberra on 17 February 2012.