Founded to sell books and stationery to the students at the University of Melbourne in 1922. It was also an outlet for students’ needs, hiring out gowns, providing lecture notes; operating as a post and telegraph office and selling scientific glassware, drawing instruments and second-hand books.  

 

MUP soon developed its own publishing program. Its first publication was a duplicated set of notes from the Physics School, then known as Natural Philosophy. The first monograph was Myra Willard’s highly regarded History of the White Australia Policy, published in 1923.  

 

MUP remained Australia’s only university press until 1935, when the University of Western Australia set up its own small press.  

 

In the 1940s, with historian and publisher Gwyn James at the helm, MUP’s activities became more streamlined, with a focus on publishing high-quality scholarly books. As its publishing program developed, MUP grew into a leading Australian publisher.  

 

In 1967 The Miegunyah Press was established as a separate imprint of MUP through the vision of Sir Russell Grimwade, along with generous bequests from him and his wife Mab, Lady Grimwade. The Miegunyah Press quickly earned a reputation for publishing prestigious books of the highest quality at affordable prices. The imprint continues to maintain this vision and reputation today. 

 

In 2003 Melbourne University Press became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Melbourne and the business started trading under the title Melbourne University Publishing Ltd. Melbourne University Press continued as an imprint of Melbourne University Publishing alongside The Miegunyah Press.  

 

In 2008 the prestigious literary magazine Meanjin proudly became an independent imprint of MUP. Founded in Brisbane over eighty years ago, Meanjin was established to reflect contemporary thinking and culture. Meanjin moved to Melbourne at the invitation of the University of Melbourne in 1945 and today remains committed to articulating Australia’s cultural moment through essays, poetry, fiction, memoirs and experimentation.