Associate Professor Peter Wyllie Johnston is a composer, author and Director of the Australian Music Theatre Research Institute and grandson to Lieutenant Colonel Charles Melbourne Johnston DSO (OM 1911), Australia's most highly ranked Indigenous soldier of the Great War. Described by the Australian War Memorial as 'The Black Prince of Gallipoli', Charles attended Melbourne Grammar from 1908 - 1911.

Join us to hear Dr Johnston share a personal story of rediscovery and reconciliation, as his family's First Nations-Boandik heritage was revealed by the War Memorial's publication of this article in 2017. In this powerful talk, Dr Johnston reflects on how confronting hidden histories can influence the formation of identity, the loss of culture, and the need to reclaim the past. He will explore important landmarks that have shaped Australia's path to reconciliation and reveal how his own evolving understanding of his heritage now inspires his own creativity. 

Associate Professor Peter Wyllie Johnston, a musician and writer, is a leader in the field of Australian musical theatre. He is the composer-lyricist of two full length musicals and the author of several books including a definitive history: The Australian Musical—From the Beginning, published by Allen and Unwin in 2019. He learned the piano from the age of five, sang professionally with Opera Australia from the age of eleven, wrote his first composition at the age of twelve, and at fourteen composed the score of Ian Robert Parker's short feature film (currently undergoing restoration) The Girl on the Boulevard, starring top Australian model Jill Goodall. For some years he practised law before returning to music to pursue a career in musical theatre.

In 1997 he moved to London, then to New York where he was immersed in the worlds of musical theatre and cabaret, mentored by leading practitioners. In 2002 he was appointed Musical Director of the Barossa International Festival of Music. A scholarship enabled him to complete his Doctorate at the University of Melbourne in 2007. In 2010, he established The Australian Music Theatre Research Institute.

He is published in The Times (UK), The Australian, The Sunday Age, scholarly journals and books including From the Melburnian – Essays and Articles on Music (2011) and The Nick Enright Songbook (2014) and is currently completing a full-length biography of Australia's greatest pianist Geoffrey Tozer, having written the script for Pure Genius-The Geoffrey Tozer Story, a new documentary film set for release by Hofland Music in 2026.

His new musical, intended for the commercial theatre is Tamarama, a story of love lost and love regained set in the world of surf lifesaving. Tamarama has recently begun its journey towards a professional production.