About Herb Feith
In 1951, at the age of 20, Herb Feith set sail from Port Melbourne to Jakarta, armed with little more than an unconventional, if not radical idea, to live, work and learn alongside the local community. This philosophy inspired the creation of Australian Volunteers International and guides volunteers to this day.
Find out more about Herb:
1. Herb Feith is recognised as Australia's first international volunteer. His first volunteer role in Indonesia in 1951 was as a Translator with the Ministry of Information in Jakarta. In total, he volunteered six times in Indonesia.
2. He completed his last volunteer assignment in Indonesia in 2000 - as a Lecturer in Politics & History at Gadja Madha University in Jogjakarta.
3. His wife, Betty, also volunteered in Indonesia on five occasions with Herb. Their son, David and his partner, Karen, and their children, Rufus and Skanda, have also volunteered in India.
4. Herb's family moved to Melbourne from Austria in 1939 at the start of the Second World War due to religious persecution. It is fitting that his life as an adult thereafter was devoted to peace and greater intercultural and inter-faith understanding.
5. Alongside Frank Engel and Jim Webb – also founding members of AVI – Herb was called upon to advise on the establishment of the Peace Corps in the United States in 1961.
6. The Herb Feith Foundation was established in 2003 to commemorate his life (1930-2001) and work as volunteer, scholar, teacher and peace activist.
7. Herb also had a strong interest in the evolution of Timor Leste. He was there as an observer at the 1999 ballot which ultimately led to the independence of East Timor (as it was known then).
8. The professorial chair: The Herb Feith Chair for the Study of Indonesia at Monash University was first filled in 2007. This Chair recognises Herb's status internationally as the world's foremost scholar on Indonesian politics.
9. His biography: From Vienna to Yogyakarta - the life of Herb Feith, by Jemma Purdey, was published in June of 2011.
10. Herb used to love cycling wherever he went in Indonesia or in Australia - the bike shed at Australian Volunteers International in Melbourne is named in his honour.
More information about Herb can be found at the Herb Feith Foundation website.