Agent TypePersonHistoryNorman William Saffin was a veteran Melbourne Labour historian and teacher. Born in 1916, the son of a pastoral worker, her grew up in the Western District of Victoria. The Depression of the 1930s forced him to leave school after forth form to become a rabbiter. Until the age of 20 her worked as a mail contrator before becoming a student teacher. He taught generations of students at Croydon High School.
He matriculated and joined the University of Melbourne as a student in 1939-1940. On 24 April 1951, he was conferred with a Batchelor of Arts, a Diploma of Commerce, and a Diploma of Public Administration. On 6 September 1954 he was conferred with a Master of Arts in the School of History with a thesis titled French Positivism, its Antecedents and its Effects on the Practice of French Historiography. He completed a further MA and a doctorate at the University of London before commencing teaching at Croydon.
Saffin published early articles in the journal Labour History, and two books: Science and Religion in Britain 1804-1904 (1973); and Left and Right in Bendigo and Shepparton 1949-51 (1974). The journal Thesis Eleven #1 contained an article Politics in History - An Interview with N.W. Saffin.
Saffin's planned five volume work, A History of the Victorian Working Man 1855-1955 was unable to find a publisher after twelve years work. It is deposited in the University of Melbourne Archives and represents Saffin's love of labour as well as his labour of love.
![[1999.0010] Papers of N W. Saffin](/img/placeholder.gif?1761251355 "[1999.0010] Papers of N W. Saffin")