Emeritus Professor John Maynard is a Worimi man from the Port Stephens region of New South Wales. He has held several major positions and served on numerous prominent organisations and committees, including Deputy Chairperson of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the Executive Committee of the Australian Historical Association. He was the recipient of the Aboriginal History (Australian National University) Stanner Fellowship 1996, the New South Wales Premier's Indigenous History Fellow 2003, Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow 2004, and University of Newcastle Researcher of the Year 2008 and 2012. He is a member of the Australian Social Sciences Academy and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. His PhD examines the rise of early Aboriginal political activism, and he has worked with urban, rural and remote Aboriginal communities. His writing investigates the intersections of Aboriginal political and social history, and the history of Australian race relations. He is the author of fifteen books, including Aboriginal Stars of the Turf and Socceroos: A World Cup Odyssey (Volumes 1 and 2).