Belinda Probert studied economics at University College London before doing a PhD on the Troubles in Northern Ireland. She then accepted a job at the newly opened Murdoch University in Western Australia to teach peace and conflict studies and social and political theory, but also to explore her Australian family connections. Moving to Melbourne, she felt very much at home, making a career as an academic at Monash and RMIT universities. She is the author of books about Northern Ireland, gender equity and working lives in Australia. Her most recent book is Bill’s Secrets (Upswell, 2025).