Dr Norman Abjorensen, distinguished author, political scientist, poet, and frequently featured in Honest History in its earlier days, has died in Canberra. Honest History (and now Defending Country also) remembers Norman as a thoughtful analyst and thoroughly decent human being.…
Teachers and School Staff for Palestine: Challenging Anzac Day resources
Teachers and School Staff for Palestine received media attention around Anzac Day for the material the group placed online about the history of Palestine and nearby, with particular reference to events at Surafend (then Palestine now Israel) in December 1918,…
Lawriwsky, Michael: Albert Jacka VC – myths and legends
Michael Lawriwsky ‘Albert Jacka VC – myths and legends’, Honest History, 1 May 2025 [This review originally appeared in Quadrant and is republished here with the permission of the editor of Quadrant and of the author of the review. It…
Memo to MSM editors: stop using those old archived photos of the Australian War Memorial; it now looks like this
Even today, with the Australian War Memorial’s $550m (and counting) Big Build more than half completed, Main Stream Media (and other media) often still use old photographs of the place, pre-Big Build. Here’s a popular one: (GordonMakryllos, Wikipedia, 2017, CC…
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Two great Anzac Day posts on Pearls & Irritations
Update 25 April 2025: from the Main Stream Media but an excellent piece from Paul Daley of Guardian Australia. *** Beneath the usual Anzac Day froth and bubble, which always looks rather like what we got last year, some alternative…
A Rationalist podcast on what is wrong with the Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial
Update 26 April 2025: RSA statement after Anzac Day, including link to Paul Daley in Guardian Australia. Anonymous veteran writes in Crikey. *** The Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA) has fought the good fight for a while now, trying to…
Anzac season posts on our sister site, Defending Country
For many years now, Anzac has not just been a single Day but more a season, starting somewhere around 1 April and running till after the Anzac Day holiday, this year a long weekend. There have come to be as…
Book note: A Happy Corner: The Story of the Ubobo Soldiers’ Settlement in the Boyne Valley
The history of soldier settlement after the Great War has been greatly enhanced by this comprehensive, lovingly researched, 238xA4 page history of what happened in the Boyne Valley, west of Gladstone, Queensland. The book’s authors are John Shield and Kathleen…
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Piggott, Michael: War and trauma – who’d have thought? Part II
Michael Piggott* ‘War and trauma – who’d have thought? Part II’, Honest History, 21 March 2025 Part I of this article. Commentary (continued) 3 There is something deeply ironic about a War Memorial being urged by a consultant to accept…
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Piggott, Michael: War and trauma – who’d have thought? Part I
Michael Piggott* ‘War and trauma – who’d have thought? Part I’, Honest History, 19 March 2025 Evidence On 7 January 2025, an article appeared in the Canberra Times headed ‘Damning report slams Australian War Memorial over “diversity”, “colonial terminology”’. There…
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Stephens, David: Did Four Corners offer a new direction for a War Memorial that has lost its way?
David Stephens* ‘Did Four Corners offer a new direction for a War Memorial that has lost its way?’ Honest History, 18 March 2025 The war memorial to me is one of Australia’s most important places. It is sacred, but it’s…
Four Corners takes deep dive into War Memorial’s links to gun runners
Four Corners this week (reporter Mark Willacy, producer Jonathan Miller) takes a deep dive into the links between gunrunners and the Australian War Memorial. Here’s a trailer and some introductory text (text also below). Interviewees include Defending Country’s President, Professor Peter Stanley, Sue…
What is wrong with Anzac Day services at the War Memorial? Symptom of a broader problem
Update 25 February 2025 Lots of good comments on the Crikey article, most supporting change to the War Memorial status quo. There’s also a petition. *** Honest History has followed the Rationalist Society of Australia’s (RSA) campaign to get the…
Remembering Lyndall Ryan: repost of her review of Stephen Gapps’ The Sydney Wars
Emeritus Professor Lyndall Ryan died nine months ago after a distinguished career as a historian, particularly of First Nations, and most recently with the University of Newcastle’s massacre maps. Professor Ryan wrote a review for Honest History of Stephen Gapps’ then recently published The Sydney…
Shield, John: Alamein to Zem Zem: a soldier-poet in the Western Desert in World War II
John Shield* ‘Alamein to Zem Zem: a soldier-poet in the Western Desert in World War II’, Honest History, 31 January 2025 The back cover of my copy of Alamein to Zem Zem (Penguin Modern Classics 1969, book originally published 1946)…
War Memorial Director Anderson gets a second five-year term
Minister Keogh’s press release. ‘Mr Anderson has served as the Memorial’s Director for the past five years’, says the Minister. ‘His reappointment for an additional five years will provide stability and ensure the continued successful operation of the Memorial. Mr…
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Stephens, David: War Memorial art has always been eclectic – and some of it has been incisive
David Stephens* ‘War Memorial art has always been eclectic – and some of it has been incisive’, Honest History, 23 January 2025 The Australian War Memorial has built up an eclectic art collection over many years. There is George Lambert’s…
Leaked documents show War Memorial’s prevarication and faffing about on Ben Roberts-Smith
Nick McKenzie of Nine Newspapers has received some leaked papers from staff at the Australian War Memorial. He writes it up here (paywall). There is also an article from Sarah Ison in today’s Australian (also paywall), which does not use…
Seasons Greetings from Honest History and our sister site, Defending Country
Season’s greetings – Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a wish for Peace world-wide in 2025 – from all at Honest History and Defending Country. We’ll be closing the shop till around 13 January 2025. Stay safe, everyone! 19 December 2024…
Piggott, Michael: Broken Years, Black convicts and Bennelong: some inadvertent irritations
Michael Piggott* ‘Broken Years, Black convicts and Bennelong: some inadvertent irritations’, Honest History, 19 November 2024 The online world seems awash at the moment with lists of things annoying baby-boomers, and indeed why they themselves are so annoying. Archivists have…
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War Memorial needs to talk peace says Medical Association for Prevention of War
Medical Association for Prevention of War Australia (MAPW) has published a new report which includes a set of principles to improve the Australian War Memorial’s programming for children. The report is Time to Talk Peace: the Australian War Memorial and Children. See…
On our sister site, Defending Country: Truth-telling about our history
The Defending Country campaign believes the Australian War Memorial must properly recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars as an essential part of Truth-telling and as a first step to reframing Australian national commemoration. We are Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous,…
Book note: The Big Book of Australian Yarns by Jim Haynes
Published just this week, this is a fat, well-produced, mostly well-written tome by a prolific author in the field, who has previously (34 books) written about convicts, rascals, furphies, war stories, drinking, rorts, racing, Gallipoli, trucking, and limericks. This new…
Piggott, Michael: White lies, archival truths and R.J.L. Hawke
Michael Piggott ‘White lies, archival truths and R.J.L. Hawke‘, Inside Story, 17 October 2024 This article contains archivist Piggott’s close analysis of the evidence relating to Hawke’s swim – or not-swim – in a pond at the Australian National University…
Published 1 November: Professor Peter Stanley’s Beyond the Broken Years: Australian Military History in 1000 Books
Details are here. Peter Stanley was the inaugural President of Honest History when it was an incorporated association. He is now President of Defending Country Memorial Project Inc., campaigning for the Australian War Memorial to properly recognise and commemorate the…
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War Memorial’s latest Corporate and Strategic Plans contain some puzzles
Our sister site, Defending Country, has looked closely at the War Memorial’s most recent Corporate and Strategic Plans – so you don’t have to. Part 1: Word Play; Part 2: Don’t Mention the War. Part 1: Here is Corporate Plan 24-28…
Gladman, Si: War Memorial raises concerns about religious dominance of Anzac Day with veterans group
‘War Memorial raises concerns about religious dominance of Anzac Day with veterans group’, Rationale, 23 August 2024 updated [The piece below follows an earlier article from Si Gladman. He is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA) and…
Parliamentary Inquiry into Truth and Justice Commission Bill 2024
The Australian Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (JSCATSIA) is conducting an Inquiry into the Truth and Justice Commission Bill 2024. Submissions are due by 6 September. The Bill is intended to establish a Commission…
Stephens, David: Keating sinks AUKUS – and it’s not all about the subs and the nuclear waste
David Stephens* ‘Keating sinks AUKUS – and it’s not all about the subs and the nuclear waste’, Honest History, 12 August 2024 Update 2 September 2024: Paddy Gourley in Pearls and Irritations. A bit broader in scope but still right…
FROM THE HONEST HISTORY VAULT: the persistence of Trump requires we look again at this famous study of bullshit
Over the years, Honest History has publicised the academic work of the late Professor Harry Frankfurt (1929-2023), a philosopher who famously nailed the phenomenon of ‘bullshit’, distinguishing it from lying but still excoriating its egregiousness. Harry Frankfurt 2017 (Wikipedia American…
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Keeping up the facade: new photographs of the War Memorial’s big build
Our photographers have been active around the Australian War Memorial, updating us on the $548m (and counting) redevelopment program. Photographs were taken 26-30 June, early August, early September, and December 2024, February 2025, April 2025, May 2025. Update 10 May…
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Stephens, David: Thales-War Memorial link remembered as a new Audit Office report is released – and a timely JCPAA report on integrity
David Stephens* ‘Thales-War Memorial link remembered as a new Audit Office report is released – and a timely JCPAA report on integrity’, Honest History, 27 June 2024 Update 28 June 2024: Defence refers another Thales contract to the National Anti-Corruption…
Book note: John Burton’s work on conflict resolution and peace more than ever relevant today
John Wear Burton (1915-2010) was a public servant, diplomat and academic who made distinguished contributions to the discipline of conflict resolution. Just published is a collection of extracts from his work: John W. Burton: a Pioneer in Conflict Analysis and Resolution: Key…
Rev Dr John Anthony Moses 1930-2024
Rev Dr John Moses, historian and priest, died in Canberra on Thursday. He was in his 94th year. There is a death notice in today’s Canberra Times and the funeral will be held next Friday, 7 June (St Paul’s Anglican…
Gladman, Si: Time to take religion out of Anzac Day services
Si Gladman ‘Time to take religion out of Anzac Day services‘, Rationale, 25 May 2024 [Years ago, Honest History attended a service at the Australian War Memorial, presided over by a Bishop in a cassock. We thought that odd. Someone…
Stephens, David: 2024 Budget Rabbit-Hole Report: $8m More For The Australian War Memorial
David Stephens* ‘2024 Budget Rabbit-Hole Report: $8m more for the Australian War Memorial’, Honest History, 17 May 2024 (This post also appears on our sister website, defendingcountry.au. Earlier related material can be found linked from the Honest History home page.)…
From the Honest History vault: Anzackery for children, including the collected works of Memorial Director Anderson
Like Christmas, Easter and birthdays, Anzac Day has familiar tropes: Dawn Service and other numbers up (or down); children marching wearing great-great uncle’s medals; the oldest upright and coherent Digger our journalists could find; two-up; football matches with the Last…
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Minister Keogh provides details on how to lodge Expression of Interest in War Memorial Council
Minister Keogh has provided details of how to lodge an Expression of Interest in becoming a member of the governing Council of the Australian War Memorial. Application material is rather buried on the standard Department of Veterans’ Affairs website. Scroll down…
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From the Honest History vault: Russians came to Australia in peace
At a time when relations with Russia are bouncing along the bottom, it is worth reposting this 2021 review by Derek Abbott of Sheila Fitzpatrick’s book, White Russians, Red Peril: a Cold War History of Migration to Australia. Immigration into…
Waterford, Jack: Our glorious tradition of being not very good at fighting wars
Jack Waterford ‘Our glorious tradition of being not very good at fighting wars‘, Canberra Times, 26 January 2024; pdf from our subscription; also in Pearls and Irritations (no paywall). Update 29 January 2024: two articles taking a wide view of Australia…
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Book note: Ross McMullin’s book Life So Full of Promise: further biographies of Australia’s lost generation
Sometimes important books slip through the reviewing net, for various reasons. There has been more of this in Honest History’s case recently; after ten years, we are winding back a bit (see separate note). In the case of Ross McMullin’s…
Honest History website: ten years on and we are winding back a bit
The Honest History website has been running now for ten years. Author and journalist Paul Daley well and truly launched us at Manning Clark House in Canberra in November 2013 and he has been a great supporter ever since –…
Opinion piece in Sydney Morning Herald: Stokes’ Seven West Media has fallen into a dark hollow
We haven’t tried to keep up with the fag end of the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial, apart from noting that there will be an appeal. There’s an online file where you can keep track of it. We couldn’t help noticing,…
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Defending Country website launches to keep the War Memorial honest about Frontier Wars
This media release has gone out today. It advises of the launch of our associate website defendingcountry.au. Honest History’s long time interest in the War Memorial and the Frontier Wars will continue on the new site. *** 15 November 2023…
Thirty years on since interment of the Unknown Australian Soldier at the Australian War Memorial
This event was reported in the media and the video (part at the time and part interviews 2022-23) featured on YouTube. Prime Minister Keating made a memorable speech at the time. Honest History notes the important role played by the…
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Stephens, David: Remembrance Day mysteries at the War Memorial: answers to Senate Questions on Notice
David Stephens* ‘Remembrance Day mysteries at the War Memorial: answers to Senate Questions on Notice’, Honest History, 11 November 2023 updated Accountability via Senate Estimates Committees is a slow process. The difficult or embarrassing questions often get ‘taken on notice’,…
Stephens, David: Nine embarrassing minutes: the Australian War Memorial at Senate Estimates
David Stephens* ‘Nine embarrassing minutes: the Australian War Memorial at Senate Estimates’, Honest History, 5 November 2023 updated When the government changed it looked, just for a moment, as if some of our less accountable institutions, like the Australian War…
Stephens, David: After the Voice: Kim Beazley’s opportunity to give Truth-telling a big boost at the War Memorial
David Stephens* ‘After the Voice: Kim Beazley’s opportunity to give Truth-telling a big boost at the War Memorial’, Honest History, 19 October 2023 updated Update 23 October 2023: a version of this piece appeared on Pearls and Irritations. *** Michelle…
From the Honest History vault: Australian War Memorial has a role in Truth-telling about Frontier Wars
Fourteen months ago, we posted this below (originally in Pearls and Irritations) on the need for the War Memorial to step up and do a proper job on the Australian Frontier Wars. Since then, the Memorial’s stepping has been forward,…
From the Honest History vault: Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia (a review)
We first posted this in 2018 and have re-run it a couple of times since. Again, it seems apposite in the week before the Voice vote, when whitefeller attitudes to blackfellers (and vice versa) seem to be front and centre.…
Marr, David: Killing for Country: A Family Story
David Marr Killing for Country: A Family Story, Black Inc., Melbourne, 2023; available electronically A gripping reckoning with the bloody history of Australia’s frontier wars. David Marr was shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal Native Police in…
Stanley, Peter: “We have seized their country by the right of might”: David Marr’s Killing for Country
Peter Stanley* ‘“We have seized their country by the right of might”: David Marr’s Killing for Country’, Honest History, 8 October 2023 Peter Stanley reviews Killing for Country: A Family Story, by David Marr Brothers Reginald and D’arcy Uhr, the…
Roggeveen, Sam: The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace
Sam Roggeveen The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace, La Trobe University Press, Melbourne, 2023 The Echidna Strategy overturns the conventional wisdom about Australia’s security. Australia will need to defend itself without American help, but this doesn’t need…
Broinowski, Richard: Sam Roggeveen’s Echidna Strategy: priorities in foreign and defence policy
Richard Broinowski* ‘Sam Roggeveen’s Echidna Strategy: priorities in foreign and defence policy’, Honest History, 2 October 2023 updated Richard Broinowski reviews The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace, by Sam Roggeveen Sam Roggeveen came from the Australian government’s…
From the Honest History vault: Frontier Wars arguments were clear in 2014 – and long before that
There’s a repost below of something that first appeared on the Honest History site more than nine years ago (Updates July-November 2014) during NAIDOC Week 2014. It shows Honest History’s early engagement with the need to properly remember the Australian…
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Stephens, David: Frontier Wars retreat at the Australian War Memorial: September 2022-September 2023
David Stephens* ‘Frontier Wars retreat at the Australian War Memorial: September 2022-September 2023’, Honest History, 27 September 2023 updated Friday this week, 29 September, is the first anniversary of a remark by the then Chair of the Australian War Memorial…
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From the Honest History vault: how far from the tree does Murdoch fruit fall?
We first posted this in 2016 and have reposted it since but it is very apt again, speaking as it does to how characteristics are nurtured and passed on, mentors and governments brown-nosed and seduced – and sometimes perhaps controlled…
Griffiths, Tom: Odyssey down under
Tom Griffiths ‘Odyssey down under‘, Inside Story, 8 September 2023 In the beginning, on a vast tract of continental crust in the southern hemisphere of planet Earth, the Dreaming brought forth the landscape, rendering it alive and full of meaning.…
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War Memorial dithers and dissembles its way to a definitive position on Ben Roberts-Smith – or does it?
Update 20 May 2025: War Memorial considering changes to text of documentation related to Roberts-Smith. Update 17 May 2025: Roberts-Smith loses appeal against the judgement in his defamation case. Now going to the High Court. Nine Newspapers Harriet Alexander: ‘Roberts-Smith…
Book note: Time to Listen: an Indigenous Voice to Parliament by Melissa Castan and Lynette Russell
This thin (96 pp) but very useful book is notable for three things: ease of reading; reminding us that WEH Stanner’s famous ‘great Australian silence’ was not just accidental but deliberate; more importantly, stressing that the point of having a…
‘History is calling’: add your name to the historians’ open letter supporting the Uluru Statement and the Voice
This has been received from the University of New South Wales Indigenous Law Centre over the signatures of Professor Megan Davis, Aunty Pat Anderson AO and Professor Clare Wright OAM. We pass it on with our full support. HH ***…
Destroying ‘our most sacred place’: recent pictures of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra
The $550m (and counting) redevelopment project at the Australian War Memorial is unstoppable, regardless of how ill-advised and unnecessary it has always been and how much opposition it has generated. That history has been chronicled. The main question now is…
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What First Nations people said about invasion, the Frontier Wars and sovereignty: extracts from the Referendum Council report 2017
What First Nations people said about invasion, the Frontier Wars and sovereignty: extracts from the Referendum Council report 2017 Recent controversy about what was or was not included in the Uluru Statement somewhat missed an important point: the strength and…
Reynolds, Henry: Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement
Henry Reynolds Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement, NewSouth, Sydney, 2021 If we are to take seriously the need for telling the truth about our history, we must start at first principles. What if the sovereignty of the First…
Broinowski, Alison: Can we handle the truth? Henry Reynolds’ major 2021 work is crucial reference in this year of the Voice
Alison Broinowski* ‘Can we handle the truth? Henry Reynolds’ major 2021 work is crucial reference in this year of the Voice’, Honest History, 24 August 2023 Alison Broinowski reviews Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement, by Henry Reynolds Originally…
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.: Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 5 in a series
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.[1] ‘Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 5 in a series’, Honest History, 23 August 2023 updated The Australian War Memorial must properly recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars as an…
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.: Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 4 in a series
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.[1] ‘Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 4 in a series’, Honest History, 20 August 2023 updated The Australian War Memorial must properly recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars as an…
Game changer: defence industry ‘revolving door’ database to be created
Long-time journalist and peace campaigner Michelle Fahy has been awarded a $60 000 grant from the Jan de Voogd Peace Fund to build a database of the notorious revolving door between government and the arms industry in Australia. More on…
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.: Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 3 in a series
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.[1] ‘Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 3 in a series’, Honest History, 16 August 2023 updated The Australian War Memorial must properly recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars as an…
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.: Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 2 in a series
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.[1] ‘Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 2 in a series’, Honest History, 13 August 2023 updated The Australian War Memorial must properly recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars as an…
Stephens, David: Three important markers on the way to a New Australia – maybe
David Stephens* ‘Three important markers on the way to a New Australia – maybe’, Honest History, 11 August 2023 All of the many voices on and around the Voice need to be listened to, some with more respect than others,…
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Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.: Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 1 in a series
Defending Country Memorial Project Inc.[1] ‘Time to be honest about the Australian Frontier Wars: No. 1 in a series’, Honest History, 9 August 2023 updated The Australian War Memorial must properly recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars as an…
War and peace and maybe a future: early August round-up
Bullwinkel A huge statue of Matron Vivian Bullwinkel, survivor of the Bangka island massacre and formidable post-war presence, was unveiled in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial. The main theme of reports, like this one, was that the statue…
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Stephens, David: Making the best of the Ben Roberts-Smith fiasco
David Stephens* ‘Making the best of the Ben Roberts-Smith fiasco‘, Pearls and Irritations, 2 August 2023 updated There may be an upside to the Ben Roberts-Smith case. Not for the family of Ali Jan or the people of Afghanistan. Not…
From the Honest History vault: Afghanistan: The Australian Story 2017 (a documentary)
The War Memorial’s Afghanistan exhibition was opened in 2013 but is now closed during the Memorial’s $550m Big Build, part of the justification for which was to have more space available to show what Australians did in Afghanistan. The previous…
Hurren, Steven: James Brack MC
Steven Hurren ‘James Brack MC‘, Honest History, 21 July 2023 James Brack of the 47th Battalion, AIF, received the Military Cross in March 1918 for service in France. He died in 1979 at the age of 90. During and after…
Stephens, David: What happens if the War Memorial Council goes in 13 different directions?
David Stephens* ‘What happens if the War Memorial Council goes in 13 different directions?’, Honest History, 20 July 2023 updated Honest History recently received an unsigned letter from the Hon. Kim Beazley AC, Chair of the Council of the Australian…
Wareham, Sue: Australian War Memorial must better educate kids on seriousness of war
Sue Wareham ‘Australian War Memorial must better educate kids on seriousness of war‘, Canberra Times, 15 July 2023 updated; pdf from our subscription Update 24 July 2023: Richard Llewellyn, ex War Memorial staff, writes in Pearls and Irritations: So often…
War Memorial Council Chair Kim Beazley explains how the Council works
Recently, it became clear that there were differences of view on the Council of the Australian War Memorial about how the Memorial should in future recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars. The letter below to Council Chair Kim Beazley…
Stephens, David: Frontier Wars: fig leaf and credibility gap at the Australian War Memorial
David Stephens* ‘Frontier Wars: fig leaf and credibility gap at the Australian War Memorial, Honest History, 10 July 2023 updated Update 19 July 2023: Peter Stanley in Pearls and Irritations (‘The Native Mounted Police: extermination on the Australian frontier’) asks…
Stephens, David: Dam Busters and ‘Anzackery’ at the War Memorial
David Stephens ‘Dam Busters and “Anzackery” at the War Memorial‘, Pearls and Irritations, 6 July 2023 updated The old phrase ‘once more with feeling’ could apply to much of what the Australian War Memorial does. Or perhaps not 80 years…
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Turnbull, Noel: How were Indigenous warriors who did wear ‘the uniform’ treated?
Noel Turnbull ‘How were Indigenous warriors who did wear “the uniform” treated?‘, Pearls and Irritations, 25 June 2023 Riffs off the outburst of RSL National President, MAJ GEN Greg Melick, that only those Indigenous soldiers who wore the King’s or…
Lockhart, Greg: Weaving of Worlds: a Day on Île d’Yeu
Greg Lockhart Weaving of Worlds: a Day on Île d’Yeu, Reading Sideways Press, Leiden, Netherlands, 2022 I am visiting France from Australia this European summer with my wife Monique. Dominique Turbé and his wife also named Dominique Turbé, née Deschamps,…
Broinowski, Alison: Greg Lockhart’s little war history: a day on Île d’Yeu
Alison Broinowski* ‘Greg Lockhart’s little war history: a day on Île d’Yeu’, Honest History, 24 June 2023 A review of a book by Greg Lockhart. When Greg Lockhart promised to send me his slim 160-page book, I feared that he,…
Quarterly Essay 90: Voice of Reason – On Recognition and Renewal, by Megan Davis: Book Note
Update 11 July 2023: Professor Davis with Professor Mark Kenny of the ANU on an Australia Institute Webinar. Update 26 June 2023: Professor Davis on Australian Story on the ABC, including transcript. *** Professor Megan Davis is Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous…
Dobell, Graeme: Fire, ash and official secrecy
Graeme Dobell ‘Fire, ash and official secrecy‘, Inside Story, 5 June 2023 Long read reviewing Born of Fire and Ash: Australian Operations in Response to the East Timor Crisis 1999–2000, an official war history. Craig Stockings’s work on the official…
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Stephens, David: ‘Alice in Wonderland’: dissembling and dithering in Senate Estimates
David Stephens* ‘”Alice in Wonderland’: dissembling and dithering in Senate Estimates’, Honest History, 16 June 2023 updated Update 9 July 2023: See below under ‘And there’s this …’ for our follow-up on one of the War Memorial’s claims. *** Senate…
Audit Office to look into aspects of the War Memorial’s Big Build
Update 10 June 2023: ‘Audit is now open for contribution, with contribution expected to remain open until 1 October 2023’. Please look closely at the Audit criteria (see below) and address them. This is not the place for a generalised…
Stephens, David: And another thing: yet more on Ben Roberts-Smith
David Stephens* ‘And another thing: yet more on Ben Roberts-Smith’, Honest History, 6 June 2023 updated 18 August 2023: Stokes/Seven resisting respondents’ access to emails. ‘As part of its application for a third-party costs order, Nine is seeking to show…
Evans, Steve: Huge Australian War Memorial building project delays fuel doubt
Steve Evans ‘Huge Australian War Memorial building project delays fuel doubt‘, Canberra Times, 26 May 2023; pdf from our subscription Notes the massive reduction in equity injection from government to the Memorial in this year’s Budget compared with the Forward…
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Carroll Harris, Lauren: The Iraq War gallery
Lauren Carroll Harris ‘The Iraq War gallery’, The Saturday Paper, 20-26 May 2023; pdf from our subscription In-depth review of the proposed Iraq War section of the new, bigger, Australian War Memorial. Includes revealing quotes from a Memorial creator and…
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Stephens, David: Pearls and Irritations nails it again and again: recent food for thought (but it’s not like the Main Stream Media)
David Stephens* ‘Pearls and Irritations nails it again and again: recent food for thought (but it’s not like the Main Stream Media)’, Honest History, 19 May 2023 updated Update later this day: Speaking of … there’s a nice piece in…
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The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Thomas Mayo and Kerry O’Brien: Book Note
Update 1 August 2023: Eight retired judges support the Yes case, led by Mary Gaudron, former High Court judge: [W]e confidently believe that, by raising the quality of our public debate, the proposed Voice will both enrich our democracy and…
Closing the Frontier Wars Credibility Gap at the War Memorial: Honest History’s David Stephens talks to 3CR’s Jan Bartlett
David Stephens sat down with 3CR Community Radio’s Jan Bartlett and their 30 minute chat was broadcast on 3CR’s Tuesday Hometime on 2 May. Start from about mark 32.40. Runs for about ten minutes. (Earlier part of the broadcast from…
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Stephens, David: Is this ‘substantial’? War Memorial finds another two square metres for the Frontier Wars (and four other Pre-1914 conflicts)
David Stephens* ‘Is this “substantial”? War Memorial finds another two square metres for the Frontier Wars (and four other Pre-1914 conflicts)’, Honest History, 5 May 2023 For some time now, Australian War Memorial Council Chair, Kim Beazley, has been making…
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Smith, Aaron: Calls grow for Australia’s frontier wars to be remembered on Anzac Day
Aaron Smith ‘Calls grow for Australia’s frontier wars to be remembered on Anzac Day‘, Guardian Australia, 25 April 2023 updated Update 26 April 2023: Anzac Day and the Frontier Wars discussed in other articles: ‘Should Frontier War heroes like Windradyne…
Stanley, Peter: Anzac Day reflects changing face of the nation
Peter Stanley ‘Anzac Day reflects changing face of the nation‘, The Australian, 24 April 2023 (pdf from our subscription – excluding comments) Historian and Heritage Guardian Peter Stanley ranges widely over the significance of Anzac Day, referring to early Anzac…
Stephens, David: Two uncles, two great-uncles, two wars: a family Anzac story
David Stephens* ‘Two uncles, two great-uncles, two wars: a family Anzac story’, Honest History, 25 April 2023 For most families who are directly affected by war, commemoration is not speeches by politicians, not parades and wreaths and children waving flags;…
Holbrook, Carolyn, Frank Bongiorno & Michelle Arrow: The Australian War Memorial must deal properly with the frontier wars
Carolyn Holbrook, Frank Bongiorno & Michelle Arrow, ‘The Australian War Memorial must deal properly with the frontier wars‘, The Conversation, 24 April 2023 The authors note the recent efforts of War Memorial Council Chair, Kim Beazley, and the resistance provoked.…
Gammage, Bill: For Anzac 2023: Michael Thomas Kennedy: from Myall, Victoria, to Sens, France
Bill Gammage* ‘For Anzac 2023: Michael Thomas Kennedy: from Myall, Victoria, to Sens, France’, Honest History, 24 April 2023 [This article was originally a talk at Alliance Francaise, Turner, ACT, 18 March 2016, to mark the Centenary of the AIF…
Honest History submission to Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum
We sent this yesterday. There is still time to make a submission. JSCVR Enshrining the Voice in the Constitution is the prerequisite to Closing the Gaps in so many areas of Australian society today, including the Commemoration Gap, where we…
Stephens, David: Australian Frontier Wars: credibility gap at the Australian War Memorial
David Stephens* ‘Australian Frontier Wars: credibility gap at the Australian War Memorial‘, Pearls & Irritations, 17 April 2023 This piece summarises the arguments the author, Peter Stanley and Noel Turnbull recently put in two articles on the Honest History site.…
Medals and meltdowns – and gunrunners getting an inside track: non-MSM news roundup
Noel Turnbull, Vietnam veteran and fellow traveller with Honest History, has posted this piece on his blog. It’s about the medals being given to Vietnam veterans and their families on the 50th anniversary of Australia’s departure from that war. Turnbull…
War Memorial is overdue answering a Senator’s question about the Frontier Wars – and 21 other questions
Questions on Notice put to Senate Estimates Committees are an overlooked source of information – provided they are eventually answered. Here below is one such question, currently unanswered and overdue for providing to the Senate Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade…
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Stephens, David: Movement at the Memorial: recent remarks from Chair Kim Beazley hold promise of change – but more needed
David Stephens* ‘Movement at the Memorial: remarks from Chair Kim Beazley hold promise of change – but more needed’, Honest History, 10 April 2023 updated (pdfs from our Canberra Times subscription: page 1 article, page 2 article, editorial) Update 15…
War Memorial Big Build is still on Audit Office’s draft work program: have your say
For the third year in a row, the management of the $550m redevelopment project at the Australian War Memorial is on the draft work program of the Australian National Audit Office as a potential performance audit. The ANAO is asking…
Credibility gap at the War Memorial: Frontier Wars initiative lagging (Media release)
5 April 2023 Credibility gap at the War Memorial: Frontier Wars initiative lagging There is a credibility chasm between the willingness of Australian War Memorial Chair, Kim Beazley, to properly recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars and, on the…
Stephens, David, Peter Stanley & Noel Turnbull: An Action Plan for Australian Frontier Wars recognition and commemoration (continued)
David Stephens[1] Peter Stanley[2] Noel Turnbull[3] ‘An Action Plan for Australian Frontier Wars recognition and commemoration (continued)’, Honest History, 3 April 2023 updated This article covers ACTIONS 3, 4 and 5 in a proposed Action Plan. Our earlier article covered…
Government announces more money for National Library’s Trove service – but more needed for NLA and other national cultural institutions
Finance Minister Gallagher has announced $33m of extra funding for the National Library’s highly valued and much used Trove service. Further pre-Budget announcements are expected affecting the cultural institutions. For earlier stories covering the range of needs of national cultural…
Stephens, David, Peter Stanley & Noel Turnbull: Voice, Treaty, Truth: an Action Plan for Australian Frontier Wars recognition and commemoration
Update 1 December 2023: An updated, shorter version of the Action Plan is now available on the Defending Country website. The earlier version is retained below for the record. HH. *** David Stephens[1] Peter Stanley[2] Noel Turnbull[3] ‘Voice, Treaty, Truth:…
Paul and Eslanda Robeson visit to Australia, 1960: author Ann Curthoys seeks information
[This request has come to us through Labour History sources in Melbourne. HH supports it] Ann Curthoys is writing a book on Paul Robeson and Eslanda Robeson’s visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1960. She would love to hear…
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From the Honest History vault: It’s not just about the submarines; AUKUS fundamentally threatens Australian independence
Update 12 August 2024: so-called AUKUS 2.0. *** In October 2021, we posted a piece on Honest History decrying the focus on the submarine part of the AUKUS story. That was when the Morrison government (remember them?) was still in…
Stephens, David: Australian War Memorial $550 million redevelopment: Memorial provides some important clarifications and corrections
David Stephens* ‘Australian War Memorial $550 million redevelopment: Memorial provides some important clarifications and corrections’, Honest History, 17 March 2023 updated Update 5 June 2023: War Memorial answer to Question on Notice from Senator Shoebridge confirms that wrong information was…
Emerita Professor Diane Bell wins Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship
Congratulations to eminent anthropologist and author, Diane Bell, who has been awarded the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship at Adelaide Writers Week. Details below. Professor Bell has written a number of times for Honest History (use our Search engine). 9 March…
Stephens, David: Another skirmish of attrition in Senate Estimates
David Stephens* ‘Another skirmish of attrition in Senate Estimates’, Honest History, 23 February 2023 Honest History watched this live on 15 February for the War Memorial’s appearance. We glanced at the video (from 20.07). Nothing leapt out from either medium.…
Stephens, David: A narcissist always searching for a new niche? Brendan Nelson’s autobiography: Part II: From the Big Build via the Frontier Wars to Boeing – but a lot left out
David Stephens* ‘A narcissist always searching for a new niche? Brendan Nelson’s autobiography’, Honest History, 21 February 2023: Part II: ‘From the Big Build via the Frontier Wars to Boeing – but a lot left out’ Part I of this…
Nelson, Brendan: Of Life and Of Leadership
Brendan Nelson Of Life and Of Leadership, Connor Court, Brisbane, 2022 From his Roman Catholic, Labor leaning family upbringing in Launceston, to Adelaide and the transformation given him by the Jesuits, Brendan Nelson graduated in medicine. The joys and wounding…
Stephens, David: A narcissist always searching for a new niche? Brendan Nelson’s autobiography: Part I: From Med School to the War Memorial via the Menin Gate
David Stephens* ‘A narcissist always searching for a new niche? Brendan Nelson’s autobiography’, Honest History, 19 February 2023: Part I: From Med School to the War Memorial via the Menin Gate’ Part II of this review *** David Stephens reviews…
Australian War Memorial to stay in Defence/Veterans Affairs portfolio
Honest History had put in a submission to the National Cultural Policy review, arguing that the Australian War Memorial should be moved to the Arts portfolio, from the Defence/Veterans’ Affairs portfolio. It had been located there for nearly 40 years…
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Latest on arms company money going to War Memorial: small change for them but how much influence does it deliver?
Update 15 February 2023: Chris Knaus in Guardian Australia on the facts below. *** Last November, Greens Senator Shoebridge asked Australian War Memorial Director Anderson in Senate Estimates (page 38 of the Hansard pdf) for up-to-date information on the amount…
Save TROVE at the National Library: sign the petition!
TROVE is an essential resource that risks extinction without adequate funding. Here’s a petition to Parliament that has already received over 11 000 signatures. Please sign. Two weeks to go. Petition Reason Trove is an online archive that provides access…
Stephens, David: Kim Beazley, Chair of War Memorial Council, makes welcome progress towards proper recognition of Frontier Wars – but now needs to drag others along, too
David Stephens* ‘Kim Beazley, Chair of War Memorial Council, makes welcome progress towards proper recognition of Frontier Wars – but now needs to drag others along, too’, Honest History, 7 February 2023 updated Update 22 June 2023: Earlier this month,…
National Cultural Policy documents: strong emphasis on First Nations
PM’s speech. Statement from PM and Minister Burke. The full policy. Commentary (and others linked from there). I would ask the arts community to join with me in urging us to take forward those steps together later this year by…
From the Honest History vault: The Holocaust exhibition at the Australian War Memorial
Yesterday was Holocaust Memorial Day. Not many Australians know that the Australian War Memorial has had since 2016 a permanent exhibition* commemorating the Holocaust, with particular emphasis on that horrific event’s Australian survivors. It was to the great credit of…
Carlson, Bronwyn: ‘Change the date’ debates about January 26 distract from the truth telling Australia needs to do
Bronwyn Carlson ‘“Change the date” debates about January 26 distract from the truth telling Australia needs to do‘, The Conversation, 26 January 2023 updated As every year for many years, 26 January generated debates this year, made more significant by…
Cranes over Campbell: recent photographs of the redevelopment at the Australian War Memorial (‘our most sacred place’)
The redevelopment at the Australian War Memorial is costing $548 million (and counting). Here are some photographs taken by our photographer in the last few days. The statue in the first photo is of Sir John Monash. The quote is…
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Cultural policy – an idea for the PM and Minister Burke: look at the structure of government
There was media last week noting the PM’s comments on cultural policy. “The national institutions have been starved of funds”, he said. “These are national assets that are a very important part about our fabric. And so, that is something…
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The Wire: Australian War Memorial set to provide greater recognition of the Frontier Wars
The Wire ‘Australian War Memorial set to provide greater recognition of the Frontier Wars‘, The Wire, 20 January 2023 updated Update 24 February 2023: Important article by Bronwyn Carlson and Terri Farrelly in The Conversation: ‘Friday essay: “killed by Natives”.…
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From the Honest History vault: late Senator Jim Molan’s final book reviewed by Richard Broinowski
Major General Senator Jim Molan has died after a long illness. Last year, Honest History published a review by Richard Broinowski of Senator Molan’s book, Danger on our Doorstep. ‘The impact of Jim Molan’s book’, Broinowski said, ‘will unfortunately be…
Fernandes, Clinton: Subimperial Power: Australia in the International Arena
Clinton Fernandes Subimperial Power: Australia in the International Arena (Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2022); electronic version available How does Australia operate in the world? And why? In this closely evidenced, original account, former Australian Army intelligence analyst Clinton Fernandes categorically…
Broinowski, Alison: Reckless self-endangerment: Clinton Fernandes on Australia as a sub-imperial power
Alison Broinowski* ‘Reckless self-endangerment: Clinton Fernandes on Australia as a subimperial power’, Honest History, 28 December 2022 Alison Broinowski reviews Clinton Fernandes, Subimperial Power: Australia in the International Arena Australia is supposed to be significant internationally, yet Australians are remarkably…
Seasons Greetings to all – and see you in 2023
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and all other appropriate wishes for the time of year. The Honest History elves (one below) will be taking things quietly for a bit but we’ll have more to say in a month or so. David…
Australia-India relations before the Quad: Book Note on Rising Power and Changing People
The Quad brings Australia together with India (and Japan and the United States). According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Quad ‘is a diplomatic network of four countries committed to supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific that…
Cashen, Phil: ‘Service and sacrifice’ in the Great War: analysed (as it should be more often)
Phil Cashen ‘”Service and sacrifice” in the Great War: analysed (as it should be more often)’, Shire at War, 30 October 2022; 11 December 2022 Update 17 February 2023: Analysis of the wounded returned men from the Shire of Alberton…
Lockhart, Greg: Australia and the Vietnam War: Part 2 – No-win situation
Greg Lockhart* ‘Australia and the Vietnam War: Part 2 – No-win situation’, Honest History, 20 December 2022 Greg Lockhart is a leading historian of Australia’s Vietnam War (Nation in Arms: the Origins of the People’s Army of Vietnam; The Minefield: an…
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Lockhart, Greg: Australia and the Vietnam War: Part 1 – Neo-Colonial Race Strategy
Greg Lockhart* ‘Australia and the Vietnam War: Part 1 – Neo-Colonial Race Strategy’, Honest History, 14 December 2022 updated Greg Lockhart is a leading historian of Australia’s Vietnam War (Nation in Arms: the Origins of the People’s Army of Vietnam;…
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Undue influence and the revolving door: Michelle Fahy tackles subjects the Main Stream Media leaves alone
Michelle Fahy has for years been an assiduous researcher and thoughtful writer on the arms industry and related topics. She has just made two notable contributions. The first was her speech to last month’s conference of the International Peaceful Australia…
Piggott, Michael: Waiting for a cultural policy for Christmas
Michael Piggott* ‘Waiting for a cultural policy for Christmas’, Honest History, 12 December 2022 updated When Anthony Albanese announced his ministry at the end of May, Tony Burke became Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, and separately, Minister for the…
Stephens, David: Look out, Minister! War Memorial drops heavy hints about needing more money for its big build
David Stephens* ‘Look out, Minister! War Memorial drops heavy hints about needing more money for its big build’, Honest History, 8 December 2022 When a project runs over the original cost estimate, the proponent has to tell the parliamentary Public…
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Stephens, David: More lunge-parry-thrust in Senate Estimates on War Memorial matters
David Stephens* More ‘lunge-parry-thrust** in Senate Estimates on War Memorial matters’, Honest History, 7 December 2022 updated Update 3 May 2023: FOI claim on War Memorial delivers heavily redacted version of Memorial’s briefing notes for this Estimates hearing (Ref No. 2022-23-08). Very little…
Stephens, David: The War Memorial is again running away from the Frontier Wars
David Stephens* ‘The War Memorial is again running away from the Frontier Wars‘, Pearls and Irritations, 5 December 2022 updated Note: the P&I post linked here is an updated version of our earlier post. *** The Australian War Memorial has…
Manning, Paddy: The Successor: the High-Stakes Life of Lachlan Murdoch
Paddy Manning The Successor: the High-Stakes Life of Lachlan Murdoch, Black Inc., Melbourne, 2022 As heir apparent to his father’s global media empire, Lachlan Murdoch is one of the world’s most powerful people. Yet despite a life in the spotlight,…
Broinowski, Richard: Buccaneers down through the generations: Lachlan Murdoch
Richard Broinowski* ‘Buccaneers down through the generations: Lachlan Murdoch’, Honest History, 3 December 2022 Richard Broinowski reviews The Successor: the High-Stakes Life of Lachlan Murdoch, by Paddy Manning The tradition of swashbuckling press barons in the English-language is not new.…
Kim Beazley appointed Chair of War Memorial Council
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Matt Keogh, has announced that former Defence Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Governor of Western Australia, and Ambassador to the United States, Kim Beazley has been appointed as the new Chair of the Council of…
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From the Honest History vault: 50 years today since the election of the Whitlam Government in 1972
1972 seems like yesterday (not). Here’s a link to the large collection we put together on the death of Gough Whitlam in 2014. For other Whitlam resources on this site, use our Search engine. Here’s a link to an article…
Stephens, David: Walking backwards for Christmas: Estimates Committee transcript shows the War Memorial’s Frontier Wars retreat
David Stephens* ‘Walking backwards for Christmas**: Estimates Committee transcript shows the War Memorial’s Frontier Wars retreat’, Honest History, 28 November 2022 updated Update 3 May 2023: FOI claim on War Memorial delivers heavily redacted version of Memorial’s briefing notes for…
National Press Club of Australia: Rachel Perkins and Professor Henry Reynolds on The Australian Wars
This was broadcast on 23 November and transcripts are available at a modest cost. (The ep is available online till 23 December 2022.) Some of what we picked up from the remarks of Rachel Perkins (from about mark 5.0) and…
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Recent media reports on the Australian War Memorial big build and related matters, especially the Australian Frontier Wars
The Honest History website has been partly out of action for a while due to a technical issue (and illness among our army of Honest History elves and their nearest and dearest), but the hiatus gave us a chance to…
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Baker, Mark: Last posts
Mark Baker ‘Last posts’, Inside Story, 11 November 2022 This article is mostly about the difficulties the National Archives of Australia (NAA) has experienced in funding the digitisation of military service records from World War II. Baker notes the inevitable…
Kerry Stokes makes a comeback at the Australian War Memorial – but just to give the Remembrance Day Address
The War Memorial has a recent tradition of comebacks, with Brendan Nelson returning as Chair (then announcing he is going again), having been Director. Now, Nelson’s predecessor as Chair, Kerry Stokes, returns as the giver of the Remembrance Day address…
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From the Honest History vault: Gough Whitlam remembered, 47 years on from The Dismissal
When Gough Whitlam died full of years in 2014 we collected lots of resources, reminiscences and recalibrations. Here they are again. Despite everything else Whitlam did, perhaps he is still most remembered for what happened on 11 November 1975. Which…
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From the Honest History vault: Remembrance Day thoughts from Tony Abbott, recently re-appointed to the Council of the War Memorial
We put this up on the site three years ago, when Mr Abbott was first appointed to the Council of the Australian War Memorial. That was by a Coalition government; this time it was by a Labor government. Mr Abbott’s…
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From the Honest History vault: another look at AUKUS and our ‘strategic environment’
Today in Pearls and Irritations, retired diplomat Dennis Argall had some perceptive things to say on the Greg Sheridan interview in The Australian with the prime minister. The breadth of the issues discussed should remind us (Lest We Forget as…
Stephens, David: War Memorial misses opportunity to clarify confusion about Frontier Wars
David Stephens* ‘War Memorial misses opportunity to clarify confusion about Frontier Wars’, Honest History, 3 November 2022 updated Update 28 November 2022: Analysis of the Estimates transcript confirms the Memorial’s backsliding from the position of 29 September. The Memorial has…
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Stephens, David: What a difference seven months makes: value of War Memorial equity in October Budget $50m less than in March
David Stephens* ‘What a difference seven months makes: value of War Memorial equity in October Budget $50m less than in March’, Honest History, 28 October 2022 updated Update 3 May 2023: FOI claim on War Memorial delivers heavily redacted version of Memorial’s…
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Media roundup on Australian Frontier Wars at the Australian War Memorial: RSL grumbles; united front crumbles
Update 4 November 2022: Honest History/Heritage Guardians analysis of material provided by Memorial under Freedom of Information. ‘War Memorial Council Chair, Dr Brendan Nelson, made some remarks on 29 September about the Memorial’s intentions regarding the Frontier Wars. Since then,…
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From the Honest History vault: Ben Roberts-Smith is not just a litigant
Tomorrow, Guardian Australia launches a podcast Ben Roberts-Smith vs The Media, five episodes reporting the long-running defamation case by Ben Roberts-Smith VC against media outlets. Honest History has followed the case, though not in exhaustive detail. (Another link, with some…
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Lee, David: John Curtin
David Lee John Curtin, Connor Court, Brisbane, 2022 (Australian Biographical Monographs 16) Acclaimed by many as Australia’s greatest prime minister, John Curtin overcame alcoholism and a troubled relationship with the Scullin Labour Government to win the Labor leadership by one…
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Piggott, Michael: A slim but masterful biographical introduction to John Curtin
Michael Piggott* ‘A slim but masterful biographical introduction to John Curtin’, Honest History, 14 October 2022 Michael Piggott reviews John Curtin by David Lee (Australian Biographical Monographs 16) Are you heartily sick of ex-prime ministers yet? Just last year there…
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Stephens, David: War Memorial fails to come clean on Capital Management Plan for its $548m big build: digest this, Minister!
David Stephens* ‘War Memorial fails to come clean on Capital Management Plan for its $548m big build: digest this, Minister!’, Honest History, 13 October 2022 updated Note: this post should be read in conjunction with our series on the $50m…
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Stephens, David: Startling events at the Australian War Memorial
David Stephens* ‘Startling events at the Australian War Memorial‘, Pearls and Irritations, 12 October 2022 For those who came in late, a rundown of cost blowout and secrecy surrounding it, changes on the War Memorial Council involving Stokes, Abbott and…
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Stephens, David: The growing cost of the War Memorial’s vanity build: Part III: hot stuff, heavy hints, loose ends, and a bunch of dates
David Stephens* ‘The growing cost of the War Memorial’s vanity build: Part III: hot stuff, heavy hints, loose ends, and a bunch of dates’, Honest History, 4 October 2022 updated Part I of this series looked at correspondence between Honest…
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Encouraging noises from War Memorial about future treatment of Frontier Wars – but need to wait and see, folks
Update 4 November 2022: Later material: here; here. Update 18 October 2022: Media roundup. James Massola in Nine Newspapers quotes Greg Melick, RSL National President and War Memorial Council member, attempting to minimise the importance of what the Memorial has…
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Stephens, David: The growing cost of the War Memorial’s vanity build: a tale of four letters: Part II
David Stephens* ‘The growing cost of the War Memorial’s vanity build: a tale of four letters: Part II’, Honest History, 28 September 2022 updated In Part I, we looked at two letters, one from Honest History/Heritage Guardians to the Treasurer…
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Stephens, David: Why on Earth did Labor reappoint Tony Abbott to the Council of the Australian War Memorial?
David Stephens* ‘Why on Earth did Labor reappoint Tony Abbott to the Council of the Australian War Memorial?’ Honest History, 27 September 2022 updated Update 19 October 2022: Could the answer to the above question lie in the suggestion that…
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Up, up and away! Brendan Nelson promoted to Boeing big wheel in London and pulls the plug on the War Memorial Council
News in the Australian Financial Review (paywall) this afternoon: Brendan Nelson will move to London in January to become president of Boeing International and a member of the company’s leadership executive council. He will resign as Chair of the Australian…
Stephens, David: The growing cost of the War Memorial’s vanity build: a tale of four letters: Part I
David Stephens* ‘The growing cost of the War Memorial’s vanity build: a tale of four letters: Part I’, Honest History, 26 September 2022 updated First in a series: Part II; Part III. Later developments, as disclosed in October Budget. ***…
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Stephens, David: Publicity for SBS documentary, The Australian Wars, provokes response from War Memorial but public input is needed
David Stephens* ‘Publicity for SBS documentary, The Australian Wars, provokes response from War Memorial but public input is needed’, Honest History, 23 September 2022 updated Update 5 October 2022: NITV panel discussion including Rachel Perkins: Land Wars. ‘It’s a story…
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Tony Abbott reappointed to Australian War Memorial Council
A media release from Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Matt Keogh, announces that Tony Abbott has been reappointed to the Council of the Australian War Memorial. Mr Abbott was first appointed in September 2019. This appointment was to expire on Sunday,…
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Arrow, Michelle & Frank Bongiorno: The real “history war” is the attack on our archives and libraries
Michelle Arrow & Frank Bongiorno ‘The real “history war” is the attack on our archives and libraries‘, Brisbane Times, 16 September 2022 (and other Nine Newspapers) updated; pdf from our subscription Chronicles the gradual running down of our national cultural…
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Raising Peace Festival 17-21 September: online; registration needed
Go here for more details and how to register: https://raisingpeace.org.au/2022-raising-peace-festival/ 13 September 2022
The death of Queen Victoria: compare and contrast
We found this below from a quick shuffle through the National Library’s excellent Trove resource. There is masses more, but this will do, both on that death and for any interesting comparisons that may be drawn with this week’s event.…
Stephens, David: Pulling the plug on the Governor-General’s $18 million pet project: are other boondoggles* safe?
David Stephens* ‘Pulling the plug on the Governor-General’s $18 million pet project: are other boondoggles* safe?’, Honest History, 8 September 2022 The government has scrapped a grant of $18 million for a leadership program promoted by Governor-General David Hurley. The…
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Beaumont, Joan: Australia’s Great Depression: How a Nation Shattered by the Great War Survived the Worst Economic Crisis it has Ever Faced
Joan Beaumont Australia’s Great Depression: How a Nation Shattered by the Great War Survived the Worst Economic Crisis it has Ever Faced, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2022; electronic version available How a nation still in grief from the Great War…
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Wright, Claire EF: Australian resilience in 1929-32 has relevance to post-Pandemic Australia, as Joan Beaumont’s strong synthesis shows
Claire EF Wright* ‘Australian resilience in 1929-32 has relevance to post-Pandemic Australia, as Joan Beaumont’s strong synthesis shows’, Honest History, 5 September 2022 Claire EF Wright reviews Joan Beaumont’s Australia’s Great Depression: How a Nation Shattered by the Great War…
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Knaus, Christopher: Australian War Memorial cannot be given ‘blank cheque’ to cover cost blowouts, Labor MP says
Christopher Knaus ‘Australian War Memorial cannot be given “blank cheque” to cover cost blowouts, Labor MP says‘, Guardian Australia, 31 August 2022 No blank cheque remark comes from ACT Labor MP, David Smith, from this week. Smith had been a…
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Stanley, Peter: The Australian War Memorial goes AWOL
Peter Stanley ‘The Australian War Memorial goes AWOL‘, Pearls and Irritations, 1 September 2022 Post from military historian and former Principal Historian, Australian War Memorial. The Memorial has plugged an inaccurate book, The Digger of Kokoda, and refuses to debate…
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Stephens, David: What’s the Idea? Still searching for the soul of the nation
David Stephens* ‘What’s the Idea? Still searching for the soul of the nation’, Honest History, 23 August 2022 I don’t propose to do a review of Julianne Schultz’s, The Idea of Australia: A Search for the Soul of a Nation,…
Molan, Jim: Danger On Our Doorstep
Jim Molan Danger On Our Doorstep, Harper Collins, Sydney, 2022; electronic version available What are Australia’s options in confronting a rising and belligerent China? For the first time in nearly 80 years, war on our doorstop is not just possible,…
Broinowski, Richard: This book will increase hostility between Australia and China
Richard Broinowski* ‘This book will increase hostility between Australia and China’, Honest History, 19 August 2022 Richard Broinowski reviews Jim Molan’s Danger On Our Doorstep As I write, the risk of war with China over Taiwan grows exponentially. Nancy Pelosi’s…
From the Honest History vault: Mythbusting about the Australian involvement in Vietnam
Update 30 August 2023: Our Vietnam War, three-part ABC, Australian government series. Update 18 August 2023: 50th anniversary of departure of last Australian troops from Vietnam: joint media release from Minister and Prime Minister; Prime Minister’s speech. Update 15 August…
Stephens, David: Uluru Statement shows the way on Australian Frontier Wars
David Stephens ‘Uluru Statement shows the way on Australian Frontier Wars‘, Pearls and Irritations, 18 August 2022 ‘We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country’ (Uluru Statement) Empowerment grows not just…
Defence of Country motivated Indigenous soldiers in Vietnam: time to recognise and commemorate Defence of Country in Frontier Wars
News today that the Australian War Memorial has published a list of 250 Indigenous men who served with Australian forces in the Vietnam War. Media release but not an actual list. The ABC story has a crucial quote attributed to…
Lessons from History: for policy-makers and policy-takers – which means the rest of us: Book note
We’ve noted recently a couple of books on history as a discipline and history as a guide: there was What is History, Now?, edited by Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb, and What Happens Next? Reconstructing Australia after Covid-19, edited by…
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Interim Report of Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide: a vanity building project is taking money from where it is sorely needed
Update 26 September 2022: Extensive coverage of government response to the Interim Report included this from the Minister and the Acting Prime Minister. *** The Interim Report. Recommendations 2-5 are about funding and staffing of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.…
Stanley, Peter: Forty questions about The Digger of Kokoda
Peter Stanley* ‘Forty questions about The Digger of Kokoda’, Honest History, 8 August 2022 updated Update 1 September 2022: Peter Stanley on Pearls and Irritations website. Update 15 August 2022: Nicholas Stuart in the Canberra Times (paywall); see also articles…
Menadue, John: Our dangerous ally could drag us into war with China
John Menadue ‘Our dangerous ally could drag us into war with China‘, Pearls and Irritations, 3 August 2022 The US is the most aggressive and violent country in the world. It is addicted to a belief in its exceptionalism, grounded…
From the Honest History vault: Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett on Hiroshima
Yesterday, 6 August, was the 77th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. We ran the post below for the 70th anniversary in 2015. Here it is again. There are links in the introduction to the…
Stephens, David: Australian War Memorial needs to own Australian Frontier Wars
David Stephens* ‘Australian War Memorial needs to own Australian Frontier Wars‘, Pearls and Irritations, 7 August 2022 Proper recognition and commemoration of the Australian Frontier Wars at the Australian War Memorial would be a practical expression of the Spirit of…
Patience, Allan: Can Australia become a confident, independent country?
Allan Patience ‘Can Australia become a confident, independent country?‘, Pearls and Irritations, 5 August 2022 The article examines the prospects for the Australian-American ‘alliance’ at a time of increasing uncertainty. Given the restricted military capability that Australia possesses (for example,…
From the Honest History vault: Review of Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia (2018), edited by Anita Heiss
Just after Garma and at a time when the Voice is growing, along with the push to properly recognise and commemorate the Australian Frontier Wars, it seemed like a good chance to run again our review of the ground-breaking collection,…
Turner, Ross: John Maynard says Frontier Wars deserve Canberra memorial
Ross Turner ‘John Maynard says Frontier Wars deserve Canberra memorial‘, NITV Living Black, 2 August 2022 Extensive interview by Karla Grant of Professor John Maynard of the University of Newcastle, a Worimi man from the Port Stephens region of New…
Stanley, Peter: Time to tell the truth at the Australian War Memorial
Peter Stanley ‘Time to tell the truth at the Australian War Memorial‘, Canberra Times, 30 July 2022 (pdf from our subscription) Op ed from Research Professor at UNSW Canberra, long-time Principal Historian at the Memorial, and Heritage Guardian. The article…
Bargwanna, Stephen: Australian War Memorial needs to tell stories of Frontier Wars in colonisation of Australia
Stephen Bargwanna ‘Australian War Memorial needs to tell stories of Frontier Wars in colonisation of Australia‘, Canberra Times, 29 July 2022 (pdf from our subscription) The author is a descendant of WJ Wills of Burke and Wills fame, who died…
Dunera Tribute Museum opens in Sydney, 28 August 2022: bookings available
In May and June 1940, Winston Churchill’s government detained thousands of ‘enemy or dangerous aliens’, previously determined not to be a risk, in the belief that this would stop any spies among them from forming a ‘fifth column’ in the…
Canberra Times: Australian War Memorial must formally address frontier violence
Canberra Times, ‘Australian War Memorial must formally address frontier violence‘, Canberra Times, 25 July 2022 (pdf from our subscription) This editorial (page 14 of the hard copy under heading ‘Frontier wars should be back on agenda’) is a significant development…
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From the Honest History vault: The collected works of Australian War Memorial Director, Matt Anderson PSM: Will they become part of the pushback?
Australian War Memorial Director, Matt Anderson, was featured in yesterday’s Canberra Times, talking about himself, why the Memorial needs to be expanded by 2.5 hectares (more space than the MCG), and how it deals (or doesn’t) with the Frontier Wars.…
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80 years since Kokoda: lots of brave deeds but not ‘the battle that saved Australia’?: Honest History resources
The Australian War Memorial is today commemorating 80 years since the beginning of the Kokoda campaign in World War II. An AAP piece appears in many newspapers today, including comments from Dr Karl James, War Memorial historian. Whether or not…
Barlow, Karen: Veterans Minister Matt Keogh ‘closely’ watching $550 War Memorial revamp
Karen Barlow ‘Veterans Minister Matt Keogh “closely” watching $550 War Memorial revamp‘, Canberra Times, 11 July 2022 (pdf from our subscription) Follows up previous Canberra Times story about $50m blowout in cost of War Memorial project. New, though, are the…
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Daley, Paul: Jesustown: A Novel
Paul Daley Jesustown: A Novel, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2022 From award-winning journalist Paul Daley comes a gripping multi-generational saga about Australian frontier violence and cultural theft that will capture the national imagination … Morally bereft popular historian Patrick Renmark…
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Stephens, David: Paul Daley’s novel Jesustown is as complex and troubling as our Australian history
David Stephens* ‘Paul Daley’s novel Jesustown is as complex and troubling as our Australian history’, Honest History, 3 July 2022 David Stephens reviews Jesustown: A Novel, by Paul Daley Important novels are grounded in an appreciation of human nature and…
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Richard Broinowski on the truth about Australia’s nuclear ambitions: Canberra event, 21 July
Fact or Fission? The Truth about Australia’s Nuclear Ambitions will be essential reading in the time of AUKUS and the Russian war on Ukraine. Richard Broinowski AO, author of the book and retired Australian diplomat, is talking with Dr Sue…
An agenda for Albanese (4): Time to rule a line (or cut back) on this unnecessary and obscene War Memorial project
Friday’s Canberra Times carries a story about the $50 million blowout in the cost of the Australian War Memorial extensions project, for which the then government budgeted $498 million. There were hints in the last two Budget papers that costs…
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Evans, Steve: $50 million jump in cost of Australian War Memorial revamp
Steve Evans ‘$50 million jump in cost of Australian War Memorial revamp‘, Canberra Times, 1 July 2022 (pdf from our subscription) updated This page 1 story is surprising only because it has taken so long to become public. Rumours of…
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An agenda for Albanese (3): Afghanistan reports, like suicide study, should be out in the open – to ensure War Memorial can be ‘a place of truth’
The new Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Matt Keogh, announced the other day that a report into the Department of Veterans’ Affairs claims processing system had finally been made public. The report had been commissioned by the previous government in September…
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An agenda for Albanese: (2) ‘Brass and Old Mates’ War Memorial Council needs new faces – and a couple of historians
The Australian War Memorial is sometimes described as Australia’s most sacred site. Whether or not that is true, the 13 people comprising the Memorial Council potentially have an important influence on how we view our past and plot a course…
An agenda for Albanese: (1) Frontier Wars commemoration at the Australian War Memorial would express the Spirit of Uluru
The new government has a lot to do. Here’s one thing that it could do, quickly and decisively, using existing mechanisms: fill some of the proposed new space at the Australian War Memorial with a Frontier Wars Gallery, commemorating the…
Queen’s Birthday Honours List Congratulations: Carmen Lawrence and Joy Damousi
Congratulations to Professor Emeritus Carmen Lawrence AO and Professor Joy Damousi AM, both listed in Queen’s Birthday Honours today. Both have been friends of Honest History over the years and both had chapters in The Honest History Book (2017). 13…
Broinowski, Alison: Review: The daughters of John Burton are determined to correct the public record of their parents
Alison Broinowski ‘Review: The daughters of John Burton are determined to correct the public record of their parents‘, Canberra Times, 11 June 2022 (pdf from our subscription) updated Review of Persons of Interest: An Intimate Account of Cecily and John…
Lockhart, Greg: Anglicans, ANZAC and the nation
Greg Lockhart ‘Anglicans, ANZAC and the nation‘, Pearls and Irritations, 10 June 2022 There has been a change in the way we understand the ANZAC tradition. Since 1945, the literature on ANZAC has led us to think of its ‘classical’…
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Alex Seton’s sculpture ‘For Every Drop Shed in Anguish’ will be a welcome addition to the Australian War Memorial
One of Honest History’s continuing criticisms of the way the Australian War Memorial has commemorated war has been that the Memorial has placed too much stress on what Australians do in war and not enough on what war does to…
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Manning Clark House Canberra Event: Persons of Interest: An Intimate Account of Cecily and John Burton
Manning Clark House Inc Persons of Interest: An Intimate Account of Cecily and John Burton By Pamela Burton and Meredith Edwards Sunday 26 June 2022, 2:30pm to 4:00pm All Saints Church Hall, Cowper Street, Ainslie, ACT A world in upheaval:…
Stephens, David: An historical agenda for the Albanese Government
David Stephens* ‘An historical agenda for the Albanese Government’, Honest History, 7 June 2022 updated History is not just a matter for historians, museums and school teachers. How we deal with our past shapes the present and future of all…
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Stephens, David: Rule Britannia and Dig! Dig! Dig! Illumination and Excavation at the War Memorial
David Stephens* ‘Rule Britannia and “Dig! Dig! Dig!”: Illumination and Excavation at the War Memorial’, Honest History, 3 June 2022 Whichever of the two Matts, Keogh (sworn in this week as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs), or Thistlethwaite (Assistant Minister) takes…
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Eureka Street Plus gets under way with Father Frank Brennan on the Uluru Statement
Eureka Street has been around for a long time as a thoughtful, judicious commentator on affairs, with a special interest in religious matters. (It is a publication of Jesuit Communications Australia.) Eureka Street Plus proposes to deliver bi-monthly essays, roundtables,…
JR Nethercote 1948-2022
Professor John Nethercote, Australian Catholic University, died last Tuesday in Canberra. He had a long and distinguished career in the public service and the academic world, was a helpful counsellor and mentor to many colleagues, and will be greatly missed.…
Stephens, David: As the War Memorial destruction goes on, and Boeing’s man takes control, FOI throws dim light on the process
David Stephens* ‘As the War Memorial destruction goes on, and Boeing’s man takes control, FOI throws dim light on the process’, Honest History, 5 May 2022 updated The destruction of the Australian War Memorial is unstoppable. And Brendan Nelson, the…
Oliver, Bobbie: Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia
Bobbie Oliver Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022 Using court records and private correspondence as well as newspaper accounts, Hell no! We won’t go! records the stories of many young men who…
Stephens, David: Lest We Forget what it was like: Bobbie Oliver’s book, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia
David Stephens* ‘Lest We Forget what it was like: Bobbie Oliver’s book, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia’, Honest History, 27 April 2022 David Stephens reviews Bobbie Oliver’s book, Hell No! We Won’t Go!…
Lest We Forget#9: Khaki elections, the meaning of and visits to Gallipoli, and 1930s comparisons: Anzac Day roundup
John Menadue’s website, Pearls & Irritations, can be relied upon to produce thought-provoking posts. This Anzac Day, it offered Peter Stanley and Greg Lockhart on khaki elections, Sue Wareham on the moral issues that now envelope the Australian War Memorial,…
Stephens, David: Lest We Forget#8: Has the Australia that the Great War Diggers fought for been captured by spivs and oligarchs?
David Stephens* ‘Lest We Forget#8: Has the Australia that the Great War Diggers fought for been captured by spivs and oligarchs?’ Honest History, 25 April 2022 We began this Lest We Forget series by referring to Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s 2017 use…
Lest We Forget#7: If you hear the Murdoch Press beating the drums of war in 2022, remember they have form
If the current election is to turn khaki, if the Defence Minister (or his shadow) wants support for spending more of GDP on defence, if the two sides try to outdo each other on support for the American Alliance, you…
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Stephens, David: Lest We Forget#6: Brendan Nelson is to be Chair of the War Memorial Council – but who will really run the place?
David Stephens* ‘Lest We Forget#6: Brendan Nelson is to be Chair of the War Memorial Council – but who will really run the place?’ Honest History, 23 April 2022 updated Update 27 April 2022: 2ST radio (Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands)…
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Lest We Forget#5: Recognising our common humanity by doing commemoration in a less Australia-centric way: Honest History’s Alternative Guide to the Australian War Memorial
Honest History’s Alternative Guide to the Australian War Memorial has had two editions (2016 and 2017) and has been downloaded more than 3000 times by school students and their teachers. We would love to have done more editions to keep…
West, Brad: What is the danger of corporate sponsorship of the Australian War Memorial? For one thing, it can undermine military professionalism
Brad West* ‘What is the danger of corporate sponsorship of the Australian War Memorial? For one thing, it can undermine military professionalism’, Honest History, 22 April 2022 The potential renewal of the sponsorship deal between the international arms manufacturer Lockheed…
Stephens, David: Lest We Forget#4: Will today’s children have to go to war – and do we commemorate past wars in a way that makes them think they’ll have to?
David Stephens* ‘Lest We Forget#4: Will today’s children have to go to war – and do we commemorate past wars in a way that makes them think they’ll have to?’ Honest History, 21 April 2022 The poet Osbert Sitwell (1892-1969) …
Stephens, David: Lest We Forget#3: Five years since The Honest History Book put Anzac in its proper place in Australian history
David Stephens* ‘Lest We Forget#3: Five years since The Honest History Book put Anzac in its proper place in Australian history’, Honest History, 18 April 2022 Five years ago this month, NewSouth Books published The Honest History Book, edited by…
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ABC Radio Nightlife with Philip Clark: War Memorial: beyond a century of Anzac
ABC Radio Nightlife with Philip Clark ‘War Memorial: beyond a century of Anzac‘, ABC Radio, 15 April 2022 Audio of long conversation between Clark and Professor Peter Stanley of UNSW Canberra (and Heritage Guardians) and Steve Gower, former Director, Australian…
Lest We Forget#2: Paul Daley takes the jingoism out of patriotism
Lest We Forget has come to mean ‘Remember’, or even ‘Remember, or else!’, in relation to the commemoration of men and women killed in war. The phrase was originally meant as a warning against imperial over-reach. Today, however, it comes…
Michael McKernan’s eulogy for Brendon Kelson, National Arboretum, Canberra, 5 April 2022
Brendon Kelson’s friend and former colleague, historian Dr Michael McKernan, gave this eulogy at Brendon’s memorial service. It is reprinted here with the kind permission of Dr McKernan, Brendon’s wife, Jenne, and sons Marcus and Adrian. Thanks to all of…
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Koike, Miyakatsu: Four Years in a Red Coat: the Loveday Internment Camp Diary of Miyakatsu Koike
Miyakatsu Koike Four Years in a Red Coat: the Loveday Internment Camp Diary of Miyakatsu Koike (translated by Hiroko Cockerill; edited with an introduction by Peter Monteath and Yuriko Nagata), Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 2022 Four Years in a Red Coat…
Piggott, Michael: This Japanese internment camp diary is a gentle and innocent work from a dark time
Michael Piggott* ‘This Japanese internment camp diary is a gentle and innocent work from a dark time’, Honest History, 10 April 2022 Michael Piggott reviews Four Years in a Red Coat: The Loveday Internment Camp Diary of Miyakatsu Koike (translated…
Stephens, David: Lest We Forget#1: Five years since Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s perceptive remark
David Stephens* ‘Lest We Forget#1: Five years since Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s perceptive remark’, Honest History, 10 April 2022 updated Lest We Forget has come to mean ‘Remember’, or even ‘Remember, or else!’, in relation to the commemoration of men and women…
Finnane, Mark: A Museum of Australian Policing: That’s a good idea, but what stories will it tell?
Mark Finnane* ‘A Museum of Australian Policing: That’s a good idea, but what stories will it tell?’, Honest History, 9 April 2022 In one of the flurry of pre-Budget news drops, the Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, announced recently that…
Brendan Nelson appointed to Council of Australian War Memorial; Kerry Stokes stands down
Media release from the Minister (text below) announces that Dr Brendan Nelson, former Director of the Australian War Memorial, former Minister for Defence, and big wheel at Boeing, world’s second largest manufacturer of weapons of war, has been appointed to…
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Opportunity for the public to influence whether the Audit Office investigates the management of the $500 million War Memorial redevelopment project
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is a Commonwealth watchdog over the processes of government. Annually, the ANAO puts out its draft Audit Work Program for public comment; the 2022-23 version has just been released. The draft contains potential performance…
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Brendon Kelson 1935-2022
Brendon Kelson died last Thursday in Canberra. He was a former Director of the Australian War Memorial, a friend of Honest History, and a passionate campaigner to protect national heritage and save his beloved Memorial from the destruction it is…
Stephens, David: New (and newish) books received: Australian architecture; beyond COVID; communists; Evatt on the Court; the history of history
David Stephens* New (and newish) books received: Australian architecture; beyond COVID; communists; Evatt on the Court; the history of history’, Honest History, 4 March 2022 updated Honest History has not read all of these books but they all address important…
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Odgers, Brett: Still talking to the War Memorial? The review and regeneration of Anzac Parade, Canberra
Brett Odgers* ‘Still talking to the War Memorial? The review and regeneration of Anzac Parade, Canberra’, Honest History, 1 March 2022 [In the lead up to Anzac Day and as we confront another war in Europe, how we treat our…
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Stephens, David: From the Honest History vault: 80 years since the Darwin bombing but context remains all-important
David Stephens* From the Honest History vault: 80 years since the Darwin bombing but context remains all-important’, Honest History, 18 February 2022 updated Tomorrow is 80 years since the first bombing of Darwin during World War II. Our commemoration cohort,…
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Two AUKUS events coming up, Melbourne 24 February and Canberra 27 February, both Zoomed
Information Webinar: AUKUS will cost the earth Join MAPW’s VP Dr Margie Beavis, Professor Richard Tanter (Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability), and Dave Sweeney (Australian Conservation Foundation) for a discussion about the costs and consequences of the AUKUS pact. Hosted…
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Stephens, David: From the Honest History vault: Dr Chau Chak Wing, ASIO person of interest and Australian War Memorial Fellow and donor
David Stephens* ‘From the Honest History vault: Dr Chau Chak Wing, ASIO person of interest and Australian War Memorial Fellow and donor’, Honest History, 15 February 2022 In Senate Estimates yesterday, Senator Kitching (ALP, Vic) mentioned Dr Chau Chak Wing,…
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Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to conscription in post-war Australia: launch of new book by Bobbie Oliver
Bobbie Oliver has written a book, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post-war Australia, published by Interventions, which will be launched online on 24 February at 7pm AEST. Details. Registration. Professor Oliver will be in conversation with…
Zoom in to these three events: Timor Leste; Stuart Macintyre; capitalism
16 February: Timor was invaded! Webinar on Timor Leste – history and current events Speakers are Dr José Ramos-Horta, Dr Kirsty Sword AO, Professor Peter Stanley, Sister Susan Connelly PhD and others. At UNSW, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.…
Knapman, Gareth: The Batman Treaty’s feudal obligation to the Kulin and the unpaid debt of $68 million a year
Gareth Knapman* ‘The Batman Treaty’s feudal obligation to the Kulin and the unpaid debt of $68 million a year’, Honest History, 10 February 2022 [Dr Knapman is writing a book which addresses the question, how did British colonial figures understand…
Stephens, David: War Memorial Heritage Management Plan: a loose end still hanging
David Stephens* ‘War Memorial Heritage Management Plan: a loose end still hanging’, Honest History, 4 February 2022 updated Update 5 May 2022: Our FOI claims on the Department and the Memorial still leave a loose end The Australian Heritage Council…
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Government announces Ngurra, Indigenous cultural precinct, for Canberra
The Prime Minister has announced the government has allocated $316.5m to build Ngurra, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural precinct, on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in the Parliamentary Triangle, on Ngunnawal country (Canberra). Ngurra, a Western Desert…
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Christmas and (late) Hanukkah greetings from Honest History and Heritage Guardians
Honest History’s elves are taking it easy for the next six weeks or so due to Christmas, New Year and a couple of time-consuming house moves. We will be posting only if something important drops and needs a word from…
Can 2.5 hectares of new War Memorial space filled with retired military kit help with healing? From the Honest History vault
When Dr Brendan Nelson was Director of the Australian War Memorial he often claimed that the Memorial could provide a ‘therapeutic milieu’ for former service men and women. More recently, spruikers for the $498m redevelopment have talked about the Memorial…
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Fahy, Michelle: Australia captured: how the military-industrial complex has captured Australia’s top strategic advisory body
Michelle Fahy ‘Australia captured: how the military-industrial complex has captured Australia’s top strategic advisory body‘, Declassified Australia, 9 December 2021 Analysis of the compromised position of the allegedly independent Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in…
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Turnbull, Noel: The commemoration industry and the militarization of Australian history
Noel Turnbull ‘The commemoration industry and the militarization of Australian history: a speech given to the Middle Park Men’s Group‘, 24 November 2021’, Noel Turnbull, 27 November 2021 [W]hat concerns me is the way Australia has developed a commemoration industry…
O’Connell, Deirdre: Harlem Nights: The Secret History of Australia’s Jazz Age
Deirdre O’Connell Harlem Nights: The Secret History of Australia’s Jazz Age, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2021 The 1920s were a time of wonder and flux, when Australians sensed a world growing smaller, turning faster-and, for some, skittering off balance. American…
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Myrtle, John: Tough gig: American jazz culture comes to 1928 White Australia
John Myrtle* ‘Tough gig: American jazz culture comes to 1928 White Australia’, Honest History, 3 December 2021 John Myrtle reviews Harlem Nights: The Secret History of Australia’s Jazz Age by Deirdre O’Connell Jazz, distinctively American musical style. The historical significance…
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Stuart Macintyre on Post-War Reconstruction: From the Honest History vault
In 2015, the late Professor Stuart Macintyre published a great book on Post-War Reconstruction, describing the work of politicians and bureaucrats in Australia during and after the Second World War. Australia’s Boldest Experiment: War and Reconstruction in the 1940s won…
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Stephens, David: National Capital Authority consultation report on War Memorial Main Works: latest (but maybe not last) phase in a sorry saga
David Stephens* ‘National Capital Authority consultation report on War Memorial Main Works: latest (but maybe not last) phase in a sorry saga’, Honest History, 25 November 2021 updated Summary: The War Memorial redevelopment project is unstoppable. We tried! *** The…
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Stuart Macintyre 1947-2021
Stuart Macintyre, distinguished Australian historian, died today after a long period of ill health. He will be greatly missed. Honest History was proud to have Stuart as a contributor to The Honest History Book (2017), where he penned a perceptive…
Stephens, David: Why would you destroy something that 96 per cent of your visitors liked? War Memorial Annual Report 2020-21
David Stephens* ‘Why would you destroy something that 96 per cent of your visitors liked? War Memorial Annual Report 2020-21’, Honest History, 12 November 2021 Annual reports of Australian government departments and agencies are normally tabled in the Parliament before…
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From the Honest History vault: Remembrance Day
Update 12 November 2021: Ian Bushnell in The Riot Act links Remembrance Day and what the Australian War Memorial is becoming (’80 years on [since it was opened], the War Memorial is in a battle for its soul’). Update 11…
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Stephens, David: For Remembrance Day: parsing “the Australian War Memorial”
David Stephens* ‘For Remembrance Day: parsing “the Australian War Memorial”’, Honest History, 7 November 2021 updated Update 11 November 2021: Reprinted on Pearls & Irritations as ‘Australian War Memorial expansion is a disgrace beyond words’. *** Recently at Senate Estimates,…
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Richard Broinowski wins History Victoria prize for Under the Rainbow
Former Australian diplomat, current commentator, and friend of Honest History, Richard Broinowski AO, has jointly won the Judge’s Special Prize Victorian Community History Awards 2021 of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (History Victoria) for his book Under the Rainbow:…
From the Honest History vault: Anzac Treasures book from 2014 gives us some hints about the new, bigger Australian War Memorial
Seven years ago, historian Peter Pedersen produced for the Australian War Memorial a bulky, beautifully illustrated book called Anzac Treasures: The Gallipoli Collection of the Australian War Memorial. The book marked the beginning of the Anzac Centenary, a four-year long…
Stephens, David: National Capital Authority misses its own deadline to release consultation report on War Memorial Main Works
David Stephens* ‘National Capital Authority misses its own deadline to release consultation report on War Memorial Main Works’, Honest History, 2 November 2021 updated Update 7 November 2021: Ian Bushnell in The Riot Act summarises the state of (delayed) play…
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Sulllivan, Christopher Daniel: The case for an Australian folk music tradition
Christopher Daniel Sullivan The case for an Australian folk music tradition, PhD thesis, Southern Cross University, 2020 (available on open access, including music files) Using new and more comprehensive sources this thesis re-interprets the evidence for an Australian folk music…
Blaxland, John: Twenty years in Afghanistan
John Blaxland ‘Twenty years in Afghanistan‘, Wartime [Australian War Memorial] No. 96, Spring 2021, pp. 10-16 John Blaxland is a distinguished academic, specialising in war and strategy. He is also a former member of the Australian Defence Force. For both…
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Wareham, Sue: Transparency lacking in Australian defence policy
Sue Wareham ‘Transparency lacking in Australian defence policy‘, Independent Australia, 19 October 2021 updated Update 28 October 2021: see also this from Marcus Reubenstein reprinted in Pearls & Irritations. Update 30 November 2021: Mike Scrafton in Pearls & Irritations analyses…
Stephens, David: ‘Desolation Row’: latest pictures as the Australian War Memorial $498m megabuild gets under way
David Stephens* ‘”Desolation Row”**: latest pictures as the Australian War Memorial $498m megabuild gets under way’, Honest History, 21 October 2021 updated Our photographer took these pictures yesterday and today (except for one which is much older). The Memorial’s spin-doctors…
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Stephens, David: Townsville Veterans’ Wellness Centre and Afghanistan War Memorial Gardens, Brisbane: avoiding bigger issues?
David Stephens* ‘Townsville Veterans’ Wellness Centre and Afghanistan War Memorial Gardens, Brisbane: avoiding bigger issues?’, Honest History, 20 October 2021 updated Two press releases this week from Federal Veterans’ Affairs Minister, Andrew Gee, tell of two openings in Queensland. They…
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Stephens, David: ‘Eve of Destruction’ at the War Memorial: why are we trashing ‘our most sacred place’?
David Stephens* ‘”Eve of Destruction” at the War Memorial; why are we trashing “our most sacred place”?, Honest History, 17 October 2021 updated Some time in the next couple of weeks (while Parliament is sitting, so most of us will…
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Stephens, David: Attempted Tudging of school history curriculum is but the most recent in a long line
David Stephens* ‘Attempted Tudging of school history curriculum is but the most recent in a long line’, Honest History, 11 October 2021 updated Update 27 July 2022: Academic Stewart Riddle surveys the history of the history wars, including most recent…
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Two Afghanistan-related items for your consideration: IPAN Webinar; Twenty Years project organised by Antony Loewenstein
IPAN Webinar on the context and consequences of Australia’s generation-long war in Afghanistan IPAN (Independent and Peaceful Australia Network) has a webinar on Thursday, October 21, 6 pm AEDT, chaired by lawyer and human rights activist Kellie Tranter, with speakers…
From the Honest History vault: War Memorial Director Matt Anderson wrote these war books for children
It has been fairly quiet at the War Memorial site recently, as interested parties await the National Capital Authority’s consultation report on the Main Works for the Memorial’s $498m megabuild, which can also be seen as an institution which is…
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National Vietnam Veterans Museum; National Veterans Art Museum
As Victoria (and Australia) starts to open up and folks look for places to visit, here’s some information about the National Vietnam Veterans Museum (NVVM) on Phillip Island and the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (ANVAM) at Southbank. ‘The NVVM’,…
Paul Barratt AO 1944-2021
Paul Barratt has died after a long illness. He was a distinguished public servant and in later life an advocate for important causes. He will be greatly missed. Obituary in Pearls & Irritations from Alison Broinowski. The obituary stresses Paul’s…
Professor Megan Davis gives Dymphna Clark Memorial Lecture on Uluru Statement from the Heart
Manning Clark House, Canberra, presents: Annual Dymphna Clark Lecture with Professor Megan Davis, ‘The promise of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: the past, the present and the future of First Nations Australia’. Wednesday, 13 October 2021, 6:00 PM –…
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Stephens, David: It’s not just about the submarines and the furore with the French: AUKUS, AUSMIN, and lessons from history
David Stephens* ‘It’s not just about the submarines and the furore with the French: AUKUS, AUSMIN, and lessons from history’, Honest History, 1 October 2021 updated Sometimes slang cuts through and helps us understand. Earlier this week, we had a…
From the Honest History vault: John Edwards’ biography of John Curtin: Is brown-nosing an inevitable posture for Australian PMs?
Prime Minister Morrison, launching AUKUS, mentioned John Curtin, Australia’s wartime prime minister, who turned to the United States for help when things looked dark. The prime minister could have mentioned Harold Holt, John Gorton, John Howard, Julia Gillard, Malcolm Turnbull,…
Weirick, James: Submission to the National Capital Authority: Australian War Memorial Redevelopment – Main Works Packages
James Weirick* ‘Submission to the National Capital Authority: Australian War Memorial Redevelopment – Main Works Packages’, Honest History, 26 September 2021 This was one of 587 submissions to the NCA on the Australian War Memorial Main Works. The Authority expects…
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Two thoughtful pieces on the military-industrial tentacles that stretch through Australian life
The Afghanistan debacle and the AUKUS surprise should remind us of the extent to which our society and economy – and even psyche perhaps – is built around the idea that weapons and technology able to be used lethally against…
Piggott, Michael: Out of Tune, but still mouldering: the National Archives of Australia
Michael Piggott* ‘Out of Tune, but still mouldering: the National Archives of Australia’, Honest History, 20 September 2021 This article follows Michael Piggott’s earlier piece, ‘Mouldering away: how long a journey for our National Archives?’, which coincided with a campaign…
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Menadue, John: Our democracy is decaying from within
John Menadue ‘Our democracy is decaying from within‘, Pearls & Irritations, 16 September 2021 Former senior public servant and businessman calls for a summit of community leaders to help chart democratic renewal. With the loss of trust in our political…
The Secret State, the rule of law and whistle blowers: Bernard Collaery Zoom event from Manning Clark House, Canberra, 26 September
Sunday 26 September 2021, 4pm to 5.30pm This is a Zoom event due to the COVID-19 lockdown Bernard Collaery is a former ACT Attorney-General and a prominent Canberra lawyer. He was lawyer for Witness K, the former ASIS officer turned…
Wareham, Sue & David Stephens: War Memorial ‘consultation’ was a sham from the start
Sue Wareham and David Stephens ‘War Memorial “consultation” was a sham from the start‘, Canberra Times, 16 September 2021 (pdf from our subscription) An op ed containing detailed analysis of the process which has led to the Australian War Memorial…
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Hopkins, David: Costly expansion of Australia’s war memorial stirs controversy
David Hopkins ‘Costly expansion of Australia’s war memorial stirs controversy‘, Nikkei Asia, 12 September 2021 A multimillion-dollar plan to upgrade Australia’s national war memorial in Canberra is pushing ahead, despite critics’ claims that the project is more focused on exhibiting…
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Heritage Guardians submission to National Capital Authority consultation on War Memorial Main Works approval application
The Heritage Guardians submission has now been posted: here and scroll down a bit to ‘David Stephens and Heritage Guardians’. Unfortunately, the website format scrubs out emphases so we’ve printed the original below. Recognising that the National Capital Authority’s remit…
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Simons, Margaret: What responsibilities do journalists have on social media?
Margaret Simons ‘What responsibilities do journalists have on social media?‘ ABC Religion and Ethics, 30 August 2021 Thoughtful piece from a senior journalist and academic. Takes a balanced view of the pros and cons of journalists working on social media…
Reynolds, Henry: The terrible effects and disastrous consequences of war. But we keep doing it.
Henry Reynolds ‘The terrible effects and disastrous consequences of war. But we keep doing it’, Pearls & Irritations, 3 September 2021 Many of the world’s 190 or so nation states have been involved in conflict. But few small- or medium-sized…
Two recent journal numbers have thought-provoking content – and one is open access!
While current events billow around our ears with Afghanistan and Covid in the van and climate change lurking, the quiet business of academic publishing goes on, with some free access and (regrettably many) behind pay-walls. July saw a special edition…
Wareham, Sue: “No Australian who has ever fallen in our uniform has ever died in vain, ever”: the PM and the AWM
Sue Wareham ‘“No Australian who has ever fallen in our uniform has ever died in vain, ever”: the PM and the AWM‘, Pearls & Irritations, 31 August 2021 Weaves together the claims of the Prime Minister that Australian soldiers never…
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Knapman, Gareth: Bain Attwood on the not so terra nullius: a review article
Gareth Knapman* ‘Bain Attwood on the not so terra nullius’: a review article’, Honest History, 31 August 2021 In 2020, Bain Attwood published Empire and the Making of Native Title: Sovereignty, Property and Indigenous People. Attwood presents a compelling argument…
Haultain-Gall, Matthew: The Battlefield of Imperishable Memory: Passchendaele and the Anzac Legend
Matthew Haultain-Gall The Battlefield of Imperishable Memory: Passchendaele and the Anzac Legend, Monash University Publishing, Melbourne, 2021 Given the extent of their sacrifices, the Australians’ exploits in Belgium ought to be well known in a nation that has fervently commemorated…
Fathi, Romain: Why have Australians forgotten Belgium when we obsess about our Diggers’ deeds in France?
Romain Fathi* ‘Why have Australians forgotten Belgium when we obsess about our Diggers’ deeds in France?’ Honest History, 30 August 2021 Romain Fathi reviews Matthew Haultain-Gall’s The Battlefield of Imperishable Memory: Passchendaele and the Anzac Legend The central question this…
Are you doing a submission to the National Capital Authority consultation on the Main Works for the $498m War Memorial project: HERE ARE SOME TIPS!
Update 9 September 2021: Heritage Guardians submission *** Where do I make a submission? Here (scroll down to ‘Have your Say’). When are the submissions due? By 10 September. How can my submission have the most impact? The NCA will…
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Stephens, David: Two absorbing evenings: the National Capital Authority information sessions on the Australian War Memorial $498m redevelopment project
David Stephens* ‘Two absorbing evenings: the National Capital Authority’s information sessions on the Australian War Memorial’s $498m redevelopment project’, Honest History, 23 August 2021 updated After the farce of the ‘early works’ consultation on the War Memorial project, the National…
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Stephens, Alan: Another bright shining lie: the ADF and Afghanistan
Alan Stephens ‘Another bright shining lie: the ADF and Afghanistan‘, Pearls & Irritations, 19 August 2021 This essay is concerned with the military-strategic dimension of our latest national bright shining lie; namely, the marketing by the Australian Defence Force’s hierarchy…
Stephens, David: Reflections on Afghanistan: hell no, never, ever go? And the gunrunners win anyway
David Stephens* ‘Reflections on Afghanistan: hell no, never, ever go? And the gunrunners win anyway’, Honest History, 19 August 2021 updated Update 1 April 2022: Memorial response to Senate Estimates Question from Senator Steele-John (Question No. 179). Pdf. Carefully worded.…
Daley, Paul: Morrison says troops died “for a great cause” in Afghanistan. To quote a grieving father, that’s bullshit
Paul Daley ‘Morrison says troops died “for a great cause” in Afghanistan. To quote a grieving father, that’s bullshit‘, Guardian Australia, 16 August 2021 Scott Morrison is shamelessly audacious to claim Australian service personnel died for “a great cause” in this country’s…
From the Honest History vault: review of Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia: racist society or casual racism or both?
Footballers Taylor Walker (with his slur against Robbie Young), Eddie Betts and Nic Naitanui have brought to the fore the issue of racism in sport. Have they shown us yet again that Australia is a ‘racist society’, systemically, inherently, inevitably,…
AHA/Honest History scholarship 2021 goes to Sharyn Clarke: congratulations!
This from the latest Australian Historical Association Newsletter: AHA/Honest History: AHA Conference 2021 Teacher Scholarship Recipient The AHA/Honest History Teacher Scholarship scheme supports a secondary school History teacher to attend the annual Australian Historical Association Conference to promote engagement between…
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Barlow, Karen: National Capital Authority finds little support or understanding: poll
Karen Barlow ‘National Capital Authority finds little support or understanding: poll‘, Canberra Times, 9 August 2021 Reports poll from The Australian Institute (national poll of 1004 people) where respondents were asked whether they ‘agree or disagree that the National Capital…
The National Capital Authority is running some information sessions on the War Memorial project
Update 24 August 2021: how to make a submission that might be noticed. Update 23 August 2021: a review of the information sessions. *** The National Capital Authority is running three information sessions next week at the National Library in…
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From the Honest History vault: The Holocaust at the Australian War Memorial
In December 2016, Honest History published a review by Professor Peter Stanley of the then recently opened Holocaust exhibition at the Australian War Memorial. We added to it later with a 2019 speech from then Memorial Director, Brendan Nelson, to…
Strangio, Paul: Who were Australia’s best prime ministers? We asked the experts
Paul Strangio ‘Who were Australia’s best prime ministers? We asked the experts‘, The Conversation, 2 August 2021 Survey of 60 or so academic experts, 2020 and 2010. Sets out criteria (longevity, achievements, management of party, relations with electorate) and ranks…
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May the farce be with you: National Capital Authority consultation on War Memorial main works – and a piece of business news
Update 6 August 2021: The information sessions: further advice on this phase. Update 3 August 2021: Canberra Times story. (Hard copy version is shorter.) The Riot Act story. *** Consultation The National Capital Authority has opened its consultation on the…
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Piccini, Jon: The forgotten Australian veterans who opposed National Service and the Vietnam War
Jon Piccini ‘The forgotten Australian veterans who opposed National Service and the Vietnam War‘, The Conversation, 26 July 2021 Article comes out on the 50th anniversary of announcement by McMahon Government of withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam. Author has…
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Stephens, David: Honest History’s Alternative Guide to the Australian War Memorial: what chance is there that the new bigger, Memorial will let these stories be told?
David Stephens* ‘Honest History’s Alternative Guide to the Australian War Memorial: what chance is there that the new bigger, Memorial will let these stories be told?’, Honest History, 26 July 2021 updated Update 25 September 2021: Two months on and…
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Stephens, David: A wasting asset? War Memorial visitor numbers have been declining – and vainglorious vandalism could make them worse
David Stephens* ‘A wasting asset? War Memorial visitor numbers have been declining – and vainglorious vandalism could make them worse’, Honest History, 23 July 2021 updated Five years ago, Honest History asked the Australian War Memorial if it kept a…
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Holbrook, Carolyn, James Walter & Paul Strangio: Is the COVID vaccine rollout the greatest public policy failure in recent Australian history?
Carolyn Holbrook, James Walter & Paul Strangio ‘Is the COVID vaccine rollout the greatest public policy failure in recent Australian history?‘, The Conversation, 21 July 2021 There are three principal factors for measuring public policy success or failure. The first…
Waterford, Jack: Let’s re-imagine Anzac Day and phase out ADF and RSL’s ownership
Jack Waterford ‘Let’s re-imagine Anzac Day and phase out ADF and RSL’s ownership‘, Pearls and Irritations, 21 July 2021 Our War Memorial commemorates all Australians, professional or civilian, who have died on active service, and makes no distinctions between them.…
‘Heal Country’ theme of NAIDOC Week 2021 – and getting at the truth of Murdering Point
Euahlayi man and ANU PhD candidate Bhiamie Williamson rounds off NAIDOC Week with a reflection in The Conversation on this year’s NAIDOC theme, Heal Country: Heal Country forces us to see these events [Juukan Gorge, mine pollution in Northern Territory]…
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From the Honest History vault for NAIDOC Week: A 2018 conversation on ABC RN
During NAIDOC Week 2018, ABC presenter Hamish Macdonald talked to four Indigenous Australians on Indigenous Australian successes and inspirations today. Featured were Mikaela Jade (story-telling technology entrepreneur), Evelyn Araluen (poet and Indigenous literature researcher), Kris Rallah-Baker (opthalmologist), and Ben Abbatangelo (education mentor). The tape ends with…
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Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide: announcement of Commissioners and Terms of Reference
This from the Prime Minister today. Media release. Terms of Reference. The inquiry will be led by Mr Nick Kaldas APM, former Deputy Commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force, supported by James Douglas QC, former Judge of the…
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Canales, Sarah Basford: Australian War Memorial $500m redevelopment project to be probed: ANAO
Sarah Basford Canales ‘Australian War Memorial $500m redevelopment project to be probed: ANAO‘, Canberra Times, 8 July 2021 updated The management of the war memorial’s controversial plans to drastically reshape the national institution will be put under a microscope over…
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Stephens, David: National Capital Authority brush-off continues with ‘one size fits all’ Statement of Reasons for Memorial decision
David Stephens* ‘National Capital Authority brush-off continues with “one size fits all” Statement of Reasons for Memorial decision’, Honest History, 7 July 2021 updated *** Update 14 July 2021: Citizens dissatisfied by the NCA brush-off described below may wish to…
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From the Honest History vault for NAIDOC Week: Tjanara Goreng Goreng’s review of Billy Griffiths’ Deep Time Dreaming
‘From the Honest History vault for NAIDOC Week: Tjanara Goreng Goreng’s review of Billy Griffiths’ Deep Time Dreaming‘, Honest History, 7 July 2021 Here’s a paragraph from the review: The book finishes with a reflection of what it means for…
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Indigenous involvement in the defence of Australia did not begin in 1914: Professor Peter Stanley address for NAIDOC Week 2014: From the Honest History vault
Professor Peter Stanley from UNSW Canberra gave an address on 10 July 2014 for NAIDOC Week. Professor Stanley was at that time President of the Honest History group. Here is a key paragraph from the speech: [I]t’s because a military…
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Stephens, David: Seventy-five per cent of Australians in national poll believe War Memorial project $500 million would be better spent on health, education, and veterans’ support services; just 13 per cent prefer spending on the Memorial
David Stephens* ‘Seventy-five per cent of Australians in national poll believe War Memorial project $500 million would be better spent on health, education, and veterans’ support services; just 13 per cent prefer spending on the Memorial’, Honest History, 5 July…
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National Capital Authority releases key documents relating to its approval of early works application from the Australian War Memorial
Update 4.30 pm Sunday 4 July 2021: Anzac Hall starts to come down (pic: Fiona Scott) More pictures of trees coming down and bulldozers going in. Heritage Guardians sent this email this afternoon to the Director, Australian War Memorial: Director…
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Stephens, David: “We have once again been played for mugs by a deeply flawed process”: analysis of the National Capital Authority consultation report on the $498m Australian War Memorial redevelopment project “early works” application
David Stephens* ‘“We have once again been played for mugs by a deeply flawed process”: analysis of the National Capital Authority consultation report on the $498m Australian War Memorial redevelopment project “early works” application’, Honest History, 28 June 2021 …
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Joyce axes Chester as Veterans’ Affairs Minister; Andrew Gee is the pea
New Ministry list following restoration of Barnaby Joyce. Darren Chester returns to the back-bench. Andrew Gee becomes Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, including ministerial responsibility for the War Memorial, and for Defence Personnel. Honest History and Heritage Guardians disagreed with Darren…
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Younge, Gary: Why every single statue should come down
Gary Younge ‘Why every single statue should come down‘, The Guardian (UK), 1 June 2021 updated (associated podcast; also in hard copy of The Guardian Weekly, 11 June 2021) ‘Statues of historical figures are lazy, ugly and distort history’, says…
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Menadue, John: Militarism has become the norm. We now even have an Army Lieutenant General heading the vaccine roll out
John Menadue ‘Militarism has become the norm. We now even have an Army Lieutenant General heading the vaccine roll out‘, Pearls and Irritations, 24 June 2021 updated Concerned that the states were getting the political kudos for handling quarantine ,…
Senator Steele-John motion on War Memorial redevelopment defeated by major parties
Senator Jordon Steele-John (Greens, WA) has been an assiduous questioner of Australian War Memorial officers at Senate Estimates. See most recently here (pages 92-98 of the pdf of the Proof Hansard) and use our Search engine. The Senator is rightly…
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Fitzpatrick, Sheila: White Russians, Red Peril: a Cold War History of Migration to Australia
Sheila Fitzpatrick White Russians, Red Peril: a Cold War History of Migration to Australia, La Trobe University Press, Melbourne, 2021; electronic version available Making use of newly discovered Russian-language archives and drawing on a lifetime’s study of Soviet history and…
Abbott, Derek: A rewarding and timely book on Russians who came to Australia
Derek Abbott* ‘A rewarding and timely book on Russians who came to Australia’, Honest History, 17 June 2021 Derek Abbott reviews Sheila Fitzpatrick’s White Russians, Red Peril: a Cold War History of Migration to Australia Immigration into Australia seems always…
Old military buff Stokes gets another 12 months on the War Memorial Council; new memorial in AWM grounds
Minister Chester has announced that Kerry Stokes’ term on the Australian War Memorial Council has been extended for another 12 months. It was to end in August. Note though that the extension is as a member of the Council, not…
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Piggott, Michael: Mouldering away: how long a journey for our National Archives?
Michael Piggott* ‘Mouldering away: how long a journey for our National Archives?’, Honest History, 16 June 2021 [See also this post on the campaign to save the Archives. HH] As many Honest History supporters will know, in recent months the…
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Fahy, Michelle: Landforces’ brothers in arms: how a weapons peddler qualified for charitable status
Michelle Fahy ‘Landforces’ brothers in arms: how a weapons peddler qualified for charitable status‘, Michael West Media, 4 June 2021 [C]onsider the activities of a not-for-profit organisation that many Australians will be astounded to discover has gained privileged charitable status…
Save the National Archives of Australia! More than 150 leading Australian writers, researchers and thinkers have signed an Open Letter to the Prime Minister
The open letter. Media release below. Coverage in media, particularly The Australian by Gideon Haigh on 12 June (pdf from a subscription) and editorial. Video with Graeme Davison. Genevieve Jacobs in The Riot Act. David Smith, ALP member for Bean,…
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Stephens, David: ‘All you’ve got to do is dig, dig, dig!’ National Capital Authority waves through the War Memorial’s ‘early works’ application
David Stephens* ‘”All you’ve got to do is dig, dig, dig!”** National Capital Authority waves through the War Memorial’s “early works” application’, Honest History, 8 June 2021 updated Yesterday, the National Capital Authority approved the early works application from the…
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Stephens, David: Afghanistan, Matt Anderson, the Australian War Memorial $498m megabuild, Brendan Nelson, the Brereton Report, Nine Newspapers, the Prime Minister, Ben Roberts-Smith, Seven Media, Kerry Stokes, and lots of lawyers
David Stephens* ‘Afghanistan, Matt Anderson, the Australian War Memorial $498m megabuild, Brendan Nelson, the Brereton Report, Nine Newspapers, the Prime Minister, Ben Roberts-Smith, Seven Media, Kerry Stokes, and lots of lawyers’, Honest History, 7 June 2021 Some important Federal Court…
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Dowling, Peter: The Australian War Memorial: a changed future
Peter Dowling* ‘The Australian War Memorial: a changed future’, Honest History, 2 June 2021 In August 1916, a tall, lean figure, dressed in the khaki of the Australian Imperial Force, strode through the battlefield of Pozières, in the Somme department…
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Newton, Douglas: Private Ryan and the Lost Peace: A Defiant Soldier and the Struggle against the Great War
Douglas Newton Private Ryan and the Lost Peace: A Defiant Soldier and the Struggle against the Great War, Longueville Media, Sydney, 2021 Imagine the Great War ending early, in 1915, or 1916, or even 1917. Imagine round-table negotiations and a…
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Stephens, David: Everyman as soldier: how men in suits in drawing rooms conned the people – and their families – into fighting on
David Stephens* ‘Everyman as soldier: how men in suits in drawing rooms conned the people – and their families – into fighting on’, Honest History, 28 May 2021 David Stephens reviews Douglas Newton’s Private Ryan and the Lost Peace: A…
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Stephens, David: “A cynical abuse of process”: summary of Heritage Guardians’ submission to the National Capital Authority consultation on the “early works” approval application from the Australian War Memorial
David Stephens* ‘”A cynical abuse of process”: summary of Heritage Guardians’ submission to the National Capital Authority consultation on the “early works” approval application from the Australian War Memorial’, Honest History, 23 May 2021 Contents Introduction Works application approvals and…
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Baker, Mark: The Emperor’s Grace: Untold Stories of the Australians Enslaved in Japan during World War II
Mark Baker The Emperor’s Grace: Untold Stories of the Australians Enslaved in Japan during World War II, Monash University Publishing, Melbourne, 2021 The Emperor’s Grace is the story of the men of C Force – the first contingent of Australian, British…
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Alexander, Kristen: Readable account of Australian POWs in Japan – though it lacks a bit of context
Kristen Alexander* ‘Readable account of Australian POWs in Japan – though it lacks a bit of context’, Honest History, 14 May 2021 Kristen Alexander reviews Mark Baker’s The Emperor’s Grace: Untold Stories of the Australians Enslaved in Japan during World…
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Newton, Douglas: Whitlam, Keating, Anzac, and the drums of wars past
Douglas Newton ‘Whitlam, Keating, Anzac, and the drums of wars past‘, Pearls and Irritations, 13 May 2021 updated Looks at attitudes of modern Australian prime ministers to our old wars and goes on to summarise the history of the Great…
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Kent, Ann: Submission to the National Capital Authority: The Australian War Memorial
Ann Kent* ‘Submission to the National Capital Authority: The Australian War Memorial’, Honest History, 13 May 2021 [This is one of the 599 submissions received by the Authority on the current consultation. HH] I write in defence of the proper…
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Riddle, Stewart: Proposed new curriculum acknowledges First Nations’ view of British ‘invasion’ and a multicultural Australia
Stewart Riddle ‘Proposed new curriculum acknowledges First Nations’ view of British “invasion” and a multicultural Australia‘, The Conversation, 30 April 2021 updated Good survey of proposed changes to Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum, now out for consultation, plus a…
Stead, Naomi: Australian War Memorial
Naomi Stead ‘Australian War Memorial‘, The Saturday Paper, 8-15 May 2021; (pdf from our subscription) A thoughtful and comprehensive evisceration of the War Memorial project from the Professor of Architecture at Monash University. There is an edited version in the…
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599 submissions to National Capital Authority on War Memorial Early Works Approval application
Update 26 May 2021: Number of submissions rounds out at exactly 600 NCA Chief Executive, Sally Barnes, advises Senate Estimates (from mark 8.00) that the final number of submisssions received is exactly 600, with the admission of a late comer.…
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Australian Historical Association/Honest History: AHA Conference Teacher Scholarship applications close on 15 June
The AHA/Honest History: AHA Conference Teacher Scholarship subsidises secondary history teachers to attend the AHA Annual Conference. Full details are on the AHA website and applications close 15 June. This year’s conference is in Sydney 29 November-2 December. The conference…
Stephens, David: Armenian Genocide: President Biden recognises what Armenians knew more than a century ago
David Stephens* ‘Armenian Genocide: President Biden recognises what Armenians knew more than a century ago’, Honest History, 3 May 2021 updated Update 16 May 2025: Bruce Scates of ANU on the story of an Australian woman who helped Armenians after…
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Stephens, David: Shots across the bows: some Anzac weekend reading and listening
David Stephens* ‘Shots across the bows: some Anzac weekend reading and listening’, Honest History, 23 April 2021 updated Just a very quick jog around the field, unfortunately. Wearing their Heritage Guardians hats, the Honest History elves have been busy finalising…
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Public meeting in Canberra, Thursday, 29 April, 6.30 pm is last chance to have your say on the ‘early works’ at the War Memorial
National Capital Authority consultation closes 30 April on the misleadingly named ‘early works’ for the $498m War Memorial project: demolition of Anzac Hall; massive excavation on the south side of the building; destruction of 116 trees. If these ‘early works’…
Basford Canales, Sarah: Australian War Memorial expansion: Community fights to save memorial’s WWII-era trees
Update 9-10 April 2021: Response from Director Anderson, interviewed by the Canberra Times (Doug Dingwall and Sara Basford Canales). To a large extent, repeats arguments previously made by the Director and his predecessor. And more in the Canberra Times. ***…
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Stephens, David: Getting the story straight: Senate Estimates hears from War Memorial on Afghanistan, extensions, and other matters
David Stephens* ‘Getting the story straight: Senate Estimates hears from War Memorial on Afghanistan, extensions, and other matters’, Honest History, 6 April 2021 updated The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade spent just 28 minutes on the evening…
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Stephens, David: Radio, reminiscences, a radical, the Limestone Plains, and a new play by a distinguished journo: a roundup
David Stephens* ‘Radio, reminiscences, a radical, the Limestone Plains, and a new play by a distinguished journo: a roundup’, Honest History, 31 March 2021 In between helping the Heritage Guardians resist the entirely unnecessary and inappropriate $498m legacy project at…
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Wheeler, Tone: Tone on Tuesday: The democratic spatial narrative of the Australian War Memorial
Have your say with the National Capital Authority on the Memorial’s ‘early works’ application. You don’t need to live in Canberra. Arguments here. *** Tone Wheeler ‘Tone on Tuesday: The democratic spatial narrative of the Australian War Memorial‘, Architecture and Design, 30…
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Curtis, Katina: War Memorial redevelopment will force Anzac Day ceremonies to move
Have your say with the National Capital Authority on the Memorial’s ‘early works’ application. You don’t need to live in Canberra. Arguments here. *** Katina Curtis ‘War Memorial redevelopment will force Anzac Day ceremonies to move‘, Sydney Morning Herald, 29…
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Stephens, David: Memorial Rorts: how the Australian War Memorial expansion was rammed through despite public opposition
Have your say with the National Capital Authority on the Memorial’s ‘early works’ application. You don’t need to live in Canberra. Arguments here. *** David Stephens ‘Memorial Rorts: how the Australian War Memorial expansion was rammed through despite public opposition‘,…
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Stephens, David: The great War Memorial tree massacre: the price we will pay for the Edifice Complex
Have your say with the National Capital Authority on the Memorial’s ‘early works’ application. You don’t need to live in Canberra. Arguments here. *** David Stephens* ‘The great War Memorial tree massacre: the price we will pay for the Edifice…
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Reaction to War Memorial’s bizarre ‘early works application’ to National Capital Authority: premature demolition, a massacre of mature trees, and a bloody big hole
Have your say with the National Capital Authority on the Memorial’s ‘early works’ application. You don’t need to live in Canberra. Arguments here. *** Earlier coverage of the campaign against the War Memorial project. *** Honest History and Heritage Guardians…
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National Capital Authority consultation on ‘early works’ associated with War Memorial $498m project: dozens of trees to be cut down; premature demolition of Anzac Hall; massive excavation at Memorial entrance
Have your say with the National Capital Authority on the Memorial’s ‘early works application’. You don’t need to live in Canberra. Arguments below. *** Update 30 March 2021: Tone Wheeler writes in Architecture and Design about the Disneyfied ‘newseum’ coming…
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Wakeling, Adam: A House of Commons for a Den of Thieves: Australia’s Journey from Penal Colony to Democracy
Adam Wakeling A House of Commons for a Den of Thieves: Australia’s Journey from Penal Colony to Democracy, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne, 2020 In 1788, Great Britain founded a colony in Australia to swallow up its criminals. And swallow them…
Myrtle, John: A textbook on the early history of the Wide Brown Land
John Myrtle* ‘A textbook on the early history of the Wide Brown Land’, Honest History, 19 March 2021 John Myrtle reviews A House of Commons for a Den of Thieves: Australia’s Journey from Penal Colony to Democracy, by Adam Wakeling…
Stephens, David: Narrow focus but not sharp: Public Works Committee report on $498m War Memorial project
David Stephens* ‘Narrow focus but not sharp: Public Works Committee report on $498m War Memorial project’, Honest History, 15 March 2021 updated The parliamentary Public Works Committee was never going to take a broad view of the $498m, seven year,…
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Stephens, David: Australian War Memorial $498m project: consultation on two fronts
David Stephens* ‘Australian War Memorial $498m project: consultation on two fronts’, Honest History, 12 March 2021 There are currently two ways in which people can have their say about the War Memorial development project. The Canberra Times story gives an…
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Stephens, David: February was a good history month: recent reads across the Wide Brown Land
David Stephens* ‘February was a good history month: recent reads across the Wide Brown Land’, Honest History, 10 March 2021 HH confesses to slippage in keeping up with reading matter. We blame February holidays. Here are some short notes on…
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Heritage Guardians says, ‘Oppose the unnecessary and inappropriate $498m War Memorial project: final chance to have your say’
From Heritage Guardians, a community campaign against the $498m, 2.4 hectares extensions to the Australian War Memorial This post invites readers to register with the National Capital Authority as a Key Stakeholder in the Authority’s consultations on development in Canberra.…
Stephens, David: War Memorial news: backing Chairman Stokes; reaching out to military history buffs; jumping the gun on closing Anzac Hall; possibly getting Tony Abbott as Council Chair
David Stephens* ‘War Memorial news: backing Chairman Stokes; reaching out to military history buffs; jumping the gun on closing Anzac Hall; possibly getting Tony Abbott as Council Chair’, Honest History, 8 March 2021 updated The Australian War Memorial benefits not…
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Broinowski, Alison: Now or never: Australia must develop its own foreign policy
Alison Broinowski ‘Now or never: Australia must develop its own foreign policy‘, Independent Australia, 3 March 2021 Surveys Australia’s foreign policy since the beginning and concludes thus: Regional solutions to regional differences will come from diplomacy, not armed force. But…
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Wareham, Sue: Let’s not allow the Australian War Memorial to become something much uglier
Sue Wareham* ‘Let’s not allow the Australian War Memorial to become something much uglier‘, Canberra Times, 27 February 2021 (pdf from our subscription) Also on op ed page of hard copy of the Times. Letters to the paper followed. Slightly edited…
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Stephens, David: Reaction to Public Works Committee report on War Memorial’s big build: rare dissent emphasises the problems with this project
David Stephens* ‘Reaction to Public Works Committee report on War Memorial’s big build: rare dissent emphasises the problems with this project’, Honest History, 24 February 2021 Update 15 March 2021: Analysis of the PWC report, plus some odd business in…
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McIlroy, Tom: ‘Adverse impact’: government warned on War Memorial redevelopment
Tom McIlroy ‘”Adverse impact”: government warned on War Memorial redevelopment‘, Australian Financial Review, 19 February 2021 (pdf from our subscription access) A story based on material made available by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) on what…
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Collard, Sarah: ‘It must all be a part of our reckoning with the truth’: Albanese acknowledges Frontier Wars in House
Sarah Collard ‘“It must all be a part of our reckoning with the truth’”: Albanese acknowledges Frontier Wars in House‘, SBS/NITV News, 16 February 2021 updated Update 23 February 2021: Paul Daley in Guardian Australia Albanese’s fine words in federal…
Stephens, David: Four history reads for a wet weekend, including Henry Reynolds on Australia Day and wrapping ourselves in the flag
David Stephens* ‘Four history reads for a wet weekend, including Henry Reynolds on Australia Day and wrapping ourselves in the flag’, Honest History, 6 February 2021 Forty millimetres of rain overnight at HH HQ in Canberra, and there may be…
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Stephens, David: Same old, same old – and lots of brass: still no historians on the Australian War Memorial Council
David Stephens* ‘Same old, same old – and lots of brass: still no historians on the Australian War Memorial Council’, Honest History, 5 February 2021 Minister Chester has announced the filling of two vacancies on the Council of the Australian…
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McKenna, Mark: Australia’s haunted house
Mark McKenna ‘Australia’s haunted house‘, The Monthly, February 2021, pp. 8-11 (possible paywall but here’s a pdf from a subscription/purchased copy) Update 8 February 2021: McKenna on 7 am Podcast with Ruby Johns for Schwartz Media. *** The Brereton Report…
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Stephens, David: Another ‘survey’ from the War Memorial about its big build – and this survey is actually a little less dodgy than the previous one
David Stephens* ‘Another “survey” from the War Memorial about its big build – and this survey is actually a little less dodgy than the previous one’, Honest History, 2 February 2021 Update 3 February 2021: The War Memorial has provided…
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Stephens, David: Day Break by Amy McQuire and Matt Chun: a children’s book focusses sharply on 26 January
David Stephens* ‘Day Break by Amy McQuire and Matt Chun: a children’s book focusses sharply on 26 January’, Honest History, 31 January 2021 Much of the debate about Australia Day/Invasion Day 26 January has been between grown-ups. This book, Day…
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Genevieve Jacobs AM
Congratulations to Canberra’s (and Wallendbeen’s) Genevieve Jacobs, who received an AM in this week’s awards. Genevieve is now Group Editor with Region Media. Honest History worked with Genevieve when she was with the ABC; we put together many Honest History…
McQuire, Amy: If your child asks why Australia is celebrating a day of invasion, what will you tell them?
Amy McQuire ‘If your child asks why Australia is celebrating a day of invasion, what will you tell them?‘, Guardian Australia, 26 January 2021 First Nations children are silenced even though the most brutal acts of colonisation were perpetrated and…
Now that Trump has been seen off (or not?), let’s look again at fascism: From the Honest History vault
Whether the 45th president of the United States is or was a fascist was a subject of considerable popular and academic debate. Most recently, there was this thoughtful piece by Timothy Snyder in the New York Times. ‘Trump’s coup attempt…
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Piggott, Michael: An out-of-shape homage to Ned Kelly’s murdered victims at Stringybark Creek
Michael Piggott* ‘An out-of-shape homage to Ned Kelly’s murdered victims at Stringybark Creek’, Honest History, 25 January 2021 Michael Piggott reviews Doug Morrissey’s Ned Kelly: The Stringybark Creek Police Murders With this book, Doug Morrissey and Connor Court Publishing end…
Morrissey, Doug: Ned Kelly: The Stringybark Creek Police Murders
Doug Morrissey Ned Kelly: The Stringybark Creek Police Murders, Connor Court Publishing, Brisbane, 2020 Doug Morrissey presents the definitive account of the Stringybark Creek Police Murders. The ambush murder of three policemen at Stringybark Creek in October 1878 was Ned…
Should FLOTUS have stepped up? Or did POTUS Trump just need a decision-making dog? From the Honest History vault
There are lots of serious matters still to be resolved (or not) in Washington, but the current crisis made us look again at what past leaders have had to do to make up for their manifest inadequacies. Perhaps Trump’s advisers…
Dingwall, Doug: Australian War Memorial drops “young and free” branding after national anthem update
Doug Dingwall ‘Australian War Memorial drops “young and free’ branding after national anthem update‘, Canberra Times, 6 January 2021 (pdf from our subscription) PM’s announced change to the words of the National Anthem necessarily requires the War Memorial to take…
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Piggott, Michael: What are we to make of Edmund Barton, our first prime minister? An exhibition in Canberra
Michael Piggott* ‘What are we to make of Edmund Barton, our first prime minister? An exhibition in Canberra’, Honest History, 4 January 2021 Michael Piggott reviews an exhibition at Parliament House, Canberra: ‘Edmund Barton: Australia’s first Prime Minister’. The exhibition…
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Stephens, David: A truth-telling War Memorial does not need 2.5 hectares of extra floor space
David Stephens* ‘A truth-telling War Memorial does not need 2.5 hectares of extra floor space‘, Independent Australia, 14 December 2020 Contrasts the historical Stokes-Nelson memorial with the putative Anderson version, but notes the hostile reaction to the current Director’s suggestion…
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Honest History holiday arrangements 2020-21
Honest History is taking a break from now until well into the New Year. It’s been a big year for everyone, what with fires, hail, floods, and covid. The Honest History office has been back and forth between Canberra and…
Minister approves Memorial project under heritage legislation – with some caveats
The Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley, has approved the $498m War Memorial redevelopment. There are 29 conditions of approval claimed to minimise and mitigate the residual impacts on the site’s National Heritage and Commonwealth Heritage values. The Memorial will…
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Architects’ new campaign against the $498m War Memorial project, particularly the proposed destruction of Anzac Hall
Honest History has received the following information from the Australian Institute of Architects. Honest History supports the AIA campaign, which aligns with the efforts of the Heritage Guardians group. HH *** Update 7 December 2020: Canberra City News. Also: Canberra…
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Daley, Paul: The strange case of the weapons maker and the Australian children’s charity
Paul Daley ‘The strange case of the weapons maker and the Australian children’s charity‘, Guardian Australia, 4 December 2020 Chronicles the slow retreat of Australian charity, The Smith Family, from its involvement with arms manufacturer, BAE Systems. Persistent pressure, ultimately…
ABC The Signal Podcast [with Brendon Kelson, former War Memorial Director]: Correcting the war record
ABC The Signal Podcast [with Brendon Kelson*, former War Memorial Director] ‘Correcting the war record‘, ABC, 3 December 2020 Brendon Kelson talks to Stephen Smiley and Angela Lavoispierre. Is there room at the Memorial to recognise both heroes and war…
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Stuart, Nicholas: After the battle
Nicholas Stuart* ‘After the battle‘, Inside Story, 28 November 2020 Honest History has been closely following analyses of Brereton and the fallout. This below is one of the best pieces we have seen, particularly on our special interest of what…
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Myrtle, John: Review note: Kieran Finnane’s Peace Crimes
John Myrtle* ‘Review note: Kieran Finnane’s Peace Crimes’, Honest History, 26 November 2020 Richard Broinowski concluded his recent review of Project Rainfall[1], a history of Pine Gap, by noting that ‘in the Australian parliament, Pine Gap has become a non-issue,…
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Congratulations Stephen Gapps (The Sydney Wars) for winning Les Carlyon Award
Historian Stephen Gapps has been awarded the inaugural Les Carlyon Award by the Australian War Memorial. The award was for The Sydney Wars: Conflict in the Early Colony 1788-1817 (NewSouth 2018). The book ‘tells the history of military engagements between…
Ian Buckley 1925-2020
Ian Buckley died recently in Canberra. Honest History never met Ian personally but was pleased to publish links to a number of his thoughtful and thoroughly researched pieces on war and peace and related matters: the history of the West;…
Stephens, David: Getting beyond ‘our heroes’: a War Memorial angle on possible war crimes
Note: this collection of material grew from the flood of which David Stephens’ piece for Honest History on 19 November 2020 (‘Getting beyond “our heroes”: a War Memorial angle on possible war crimes’; click here) was one of the early…
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Wareham, Sue: Let’s face it, Australia goes to war far too easily
Sue Wareham* ‘Let’s face it, Australia goes to war far too easily‘, Canberra Times, 15 November 2020 (pdf from our subscription) The imminent Brereton Report should get us thinking not just about possible war crimes but about the decisions we…
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Open letter to Prime Minister opposing $498m War Memorial redevelopment: reply (signed by Director, War Memorial) received
Heritage Guardians organised this letter with over 70 signatures to the PM. A reply has come in, signed by the Director of the Memorial, and a copy is attached. You can make it bigger by zooming. Update 22 November 2020:…
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Daley, Paul: Australia is in for a shock as war crimes investigation brings reality of war to the Anzac myth
Paul Daley ‘Australia is in for a shock as war crimes investigation brings reality of war to the Anzac myth‘, Guardian Australia, 13 November 2020 updated Update 23 November 2020: a further piece by Paul Daley. *** Places the imminent…
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Environment Minister given an extension of time to make a decision on War Memorial project
This (pdf copy attached) has just landed on the Referrals list section of the website of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (2019/8574). The key words: The relevant period in which the Minister must make a decision whether…
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War Memorial chairman Stokes prods PM on PWC progress on project
Update 3 December 2020: Rick Wilson MP elevated to Chair (entry for 3 December). *** It’s interesting what goes down at national ceremonies, even under Covid restrictions. Yesterday’s Guardian blog from Canberra, under the byline of Paul Karp, reported thus…
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From the Honest History vault: A note on Paul Keating’s Remembrance Day Address 2013
There is a lot of material on the Honest History website about Remembrance Day; just use our Search engine with the term ‘Remembrance Day’. Seven years ago, former Prime Minister Keating made a speech on Remembrance Day. That speech, in…
From the Honest History vault: Trump as bullshitter-in-chief
As President Trump disappears gradually but inevitably into his own unreality bubble, it is worth recalling that Professor Harry Frankfurt, American philosopher and doyen of bullshit analysis – that’s the academic study of bullshit – revisited his earlier work in…
McIlroy, Tom: Former veterans’ minister warns of War Memorial heritage risk
Tom McIlroy ‘Former veterans’ minister warns of War Memorial heritage risk‘, Australian Financial Review, 29 October 2020 (pdf from our subscription) Thoughts from the Hon. Alan Griffin, former Minister for Veterans’ Affairs in the Rudd government. Griffin questions whether this…
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Senate Estimates skate around the real issues with the Memorial’s big build
The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee spent 30 minutes on the War Memorial last evening and, while we wait for the Hansard, here are some points we picked up. Update 2 November 2020: Proof Hansard now available (pages…
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Veterans’ jobs are a part of the War Memorial project but need to be put in context
Nine newspapers health reporter Rachel Clun has a piece today about how the $498m War Memorial project allows for jobs for veterans. Companies hoping to win work on the project must hire veterans or their family members, Clun writes, or…
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‘Where are they putting the war crimes wing?’ Jon Kudelka cartoon in the Saturday Paper rolls up some important issues
Update 19 November 2020: David Stephens’ comment on Brereton report ties a few threads together. Special Forces have been a thing at the Memorial for a while. It’s been all about not tearing down our heroes. Update 14 November 2020: Director,…
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Stop this indulgent $498m project at the War Memorial! Open letter to the Prime Minister signed by over 70 Australians
Update 14 November 2020: Reply to the open letter. The reply is signed by the Director of the War Memorial. It overstates the extent of change to the project as a result of the consultation but asks everyone to accept…
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Williams, Elliot: The $500 million Australian War Memorial expansion risks undermining Australia’s environment and heritage laws, architects say
Elliot Williams ‘The $500 million Australian War Memorial expansion risks undermining Australia’s environment and heritage laws, architects say‘, Canberra Times, 22 October 2020 updated (pdf from our subscription) Reports on long media release from Architects Institute of Australia, which called…
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Kenny, Mark: Why looking back is the only way forward: COVID-19, the Federation, and the chance of genuine reconciliation
Mark Kenny ‘Why looking back is the only way forward: COVID-19, the Federation, and the chance of genuine reconciliation: 2020 Henry Parkes Oration‘, Parkes Foundation, 19 October 2020 Makes the case for an Indigenous museum; contrasts it with spending on…
Fahy, Michelle: LobbyLand ‘culture of cosiness’: colossal conflicts of interest in Defence spending blitz
Michelle Fahy ‘LobbyLand “culture of cosiness”: colossal conflicts of interest in Defence spending blitz‘, Pearls and Irritations, 13 October 2020 updated On corporate influence on government policy and how weapons makers cultivate relationships with politicians and top officials in the…
Stephens, David: From the Honest History vault: Jauncey’s View: the world through the eyes of an eccentric author, world traveller and rent-collector
David Stephens* ‘From the Honest History vault: Jauncey’s View: the world through the eyes of an eccentric author, world traveller and rent collector’, Honest History, 13 October 2020 When we began the Honest History website nearly seven years ago, we…
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Stephens, David: War Memorial’s ‘Final Preliminary Documentation’ leaves many unanswered questions on $498m project: over to you, DAWE
David Stephens* ‘War Memorial’s “Final Preliminary Documentation” leaves many unanswered questions on $498m project: over to you, DAWE’, Honest History, 9 October 2020 updated As foreshadowed in our posts of 30 September and 2 October, the Australian War Memorial has…
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McIlroy, Tom: Government’s heritage adviser warns against War Memorial redevelopment
Tom McIlroy ‘Government’s heritage adviser warns against War Memorial redevelopment‘, Australian Financial Review, 4 October 2020 updated (pdf from our subscription) Riffs off submission No. 152 to the Memorial’s EPBC Act consultation (Download Preliminary Documentation Public Comment). The Australian Heritage…
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Memorial provides some guidance through bundle of EPBC Act material – but a clear majority of public comments received are against the $498m redevelopment project
We said earlier in the week that we were nearly at the stage of the War Memorial publishing its final preliminary documentation on the heritage and environmental impacts of its $498m redevelopment project. The documentation has now been published on…
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Nearly there? Latest news from those responsible for the War Memorial heritage assessment process
Update 9 October 2020: Analysis of Memorial’s Final Preliminary Documentation. Update 1 October 2020: Parliamentary Library’s quick guide to the issues. It is out-of-date in one key respect (encroachment on Remembrance Park is not now part of the plan: need…
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Inglis, Ken, Bill Gammage, Seumas Spark & Jay Winter, with Carol Bunyan, Dunera Lives: Profiles
Ken Inglis, Bill Gammage, Seumas Spark & Jay Winter, with Carol Bunyan Dunera Lives: Profiles, Monash University Publishing, Melbourne, 2020 The story of the “Dunera Boys” is an intrinsic part of the history of Australia in the Second World War…
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Holt, Stephen: Another Philipp (sic) encounters Australia: one of many stories in a rich second Dunera volume
Stephen Holt* ‘Another Philipp (sic) encounters Australia: one of many stories in a rich second Dunera volume’, Honest History, 30 September 2020 Stephen Holt reviews Dunera Lives: Profiles, by Ken Inglis, Bill Gammage, Seumas Spark and Jay Winter with Carol…
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Susan Ryan AO 1942-2020
Susan Ryan, former Labor Senator and Minister, pioneer in sex discrimination legislation and other fields, died unexpectedly yesterday at the age of 77. A tribute in The Conversation from Chris Wallace (University of Canberra), one in Pearls and Irritations from Michael…
Stephens, David: Afghanistan under the microscope – but not especially at the War Memorial
David Stephens* ‘Afghanistan under the microscope – but not especially at the War Memorial’, Honest History, 21 September 2020 updated Update 7 October 2020: Author Ben McKelvey, author of book on Afghanistan war, talks to Phillip Adams on Late Night…
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Stephens, David: Review note: Ted Egan’s The Anzacs: 100 Years On in Story and Song
David Stephens* ‘Review note: Ted Egan’s The Anzacs: 100 Years On in Story and Song‘, Honest History, 18 September 2020 Update: Mr Egan offers free copies of the book to worthy causes. Contact. *** Ted Egan is what was once…
De Maria, William: Australian War Memorial: from keeper of the flame to hider of shame?
William De Maria ‘Australian War Memorial: from keeper of the flame to hider of shame?‘ Michael West Media, 16 September 2020 Conceived during World War I amidst the mustard gas, the dead soldiers, and rotting horses on the wet battlefields…
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Option 4 is the way to go to have your voice properly heard on the War Memorial project: Advice to commenters on heritage aspects under EPBC Act
This advice is directed to the 167 people and organisations who provided comments to the Australian War Memorial on heritage aspects of its $498m redevelopment. It argues that you should ensure your comment is publicly available on the Memorial’s website.…
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Australia’s settler-colonial art seen through the work of a Blue Mountains historian
People have painted and pictured Australia as long as they have been here. Comparatively recently though, since 1788, there has been what historian Dr Gary Werskey specialises in – settler-colonial art, particularly the work of AH (Albert Henry) Fullwood (1863-1930).…
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Dapin, Mark: Public Enemies: Russell “Mad Dog” Cox, Ray Denning and the Golden Age of Armed Robbery
Mark Dapin Public Enemies: Russell “Mad Dog” Cox, Ray Denning and the Golden Age of Armed Robbery, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2020; electronic version available In the Australia of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, armed robbers were the top of…
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Myrtle, John: Australian armed robbers Russell Cox and Ray Denning: it was a different world then
John Myrtle* ‘Australian armed robbers Russell Cox and Ray Denning: it was a different world then’, Honest History, 11 September 2020 John Myrtle reviews Mark Dapin’s Public Enemies: Russell “Mad Dog” Cox, Ray Denning and the Golden Age of Armed…
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Bongiorno, Frank: An obedient nation of larrikins: why Victorians are not revolting
Frank Bongiorno ‘An obedient nation of larrikins: why Victorians are not revolting‘, The Conversation, 10 September 2020 Update 21 September 2020: Dave Milner in The Shot newsletter on the low-key Melburnian cope. Speculates about what (mostly supportive) Victorian attitudes to…
Dunera stories as second volume is launched – and Honest History review is coming soon
We have often picked up references to the MV Dunera and its diaspora. Use our Search engine. We reviewed the first volume (Dunera Lives: A Visual History) of the Monash University Publishing pair of volumes. A review of the second…
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Wareham, Sue: This government needs to stop militarising our biggest challenges
Sue Wareham* ‘This government needs to stop militarising our biggest challenges‘, Canberra Times, 7 September 2020 (pdf from our subscription) Criticises the focus on using the Australian Defence Force to deal with domestic emergencies, including the current pandemic. The risk…
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Khaki all the way down: John Menadue and Bruce Haigh on Australian militarism
John Menadue’s website Pearls and Irritations continues to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. This week, Menadue himself posted a thoughtful piece, ‘Military and security agencies are eroding civil society‘. We are encouraged to celebrate the disastrous Gallipoli invasion…
Turnbull, Noel: Thank you for your service
Noel Turnbull ‘Thank you for your service‘, Noel Turnbull, 26 August 2020 Veteran author, communications specialist and journalist contrasts the Morrison government’s willingness to splurge on War Memorial build with its failings in dealing with the Productivity Commission report on…
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Stephens, David: Performing Anzac: Brendan Nelson and the emotion of remembrance
David Stephens* ‘Performing Anzac: Brendan Nelson and the emotion of remembrance‘, Pearls and Irritations, 27 August 2020 Brief analysis of the rhetorical style of the former War Memorial Director, provoked by his recent insertion of himself into the debate over…
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McIlroy, Tom: ‘Dangerous precedent’: Architects seek War Memorial redevelopment halt
Tom McIlroy ‘ “Dangerous precedent”: Architects seek War Memorial redevelopment halt’, Australian Financial Review, 23 August 2020 updated (Pdf from our subscription) Update 2 September 2020: In Financial Review letters, former Memorial officer, Stewart Mitchell, responds to Director Anderson (pdf…
Monuments body, architects and professional historians make strong statements on War Memorial project
Friday brings a report of a letter to the Environment department from the Australian chapter of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to UNESCO. Tom McIlroy in the Australian Financial Review (pdf from our subscription)…
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McKay, Jim & Karen Brooks: Toys for the boys: white men’s business at the War Memorial
Jim McKay & Karen Brooks ‘Toys for the boys: white men’s business at the War Memorial‘, Broad Agenda, 18 August 2020 Masculinity: Most cultural institutions in the national capital are facing austerity measures so crippling they can barely conduct their…
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War Memorial $498m redevelopment project: accountability round-up – Public Works Committee and EPBC Act
Update 4 September 2020: Some clarification on stumbling War Memorial heritage process Advice from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE), responsible for heritage, has made things clearer about the ‘privacy’ aspects below. Campaign diary, entry for 4…
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Cook, John with Jon Bauer: The Last Lighthouse Keeper: A Memoir
John Cook with Jon Bauer The Last Lighthouse Keeper: A Memoir, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2020; electronic version available In Tasmania, John Cook is known as ‘The Keeper of the Flame’. As one of Australia’s longest-serving lighthouse keepers, John spent…
Pender, Margaret: The lonely life of the last lighthouse keeper
Margaret Pender* ‘The lonely life of the last lighthouse keeper’, Honest History, 15 August 2020 Margaret Pender reviews The Last Lighthouse Keeper: A Memoir, by John Cook with Jon Bauer The idea of lighthouses conjures up images of man battling…
Former War Memorial Director Gower responds to former War Memorial Director Nelson
Former War Memorial Director, Brendan Nelson, fired some barbs earlier this week at opponents of the Memorial redevelopment. An equally sharp response has come from another former Director, Steve Gower, in a letter to the Australian Financial Review. (Pdf from…
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Stephens, David: War Memorial visitor figures not keeping pace with population increase
David Stephens* ‘War Memorial visitor figures not keeping pace with population increase’, Honest History, 10 August 2020 updated In 2016 and again in 2017, Honest History took a long view of Australian War Memorial visitor statistics going back to 1990-91.…
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Public Works Committee inquiry into War Memorial development: Hansard transcript and supplementary submissions
The Public Works Committee website now carries the transcript from its public hearing on 14 July. The transcript includes testimony from a number of opponents of the Memorial redevelopment. Also posted are supplementary submissions from opponents, including former Memorial officer,…
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Cashen, Phil: The White Australia Policy: always in the background
Phil Cashen ‘The White Australia Policy: always in the background‘, Shire at War, 28 July 2020 From down Alberton, Gippsland, Victoria way comes this detailed post from blogger-historian, Phil Cashen. It looks at the treatment of the White Australia Policy…
Stephens, David: ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds’: Hiroshima 75 years on
David Stephens* ‘”Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”: Hiroshima 75 years on’, Honest History, 6 August 2020 updated Update 8 August 2021, 76 years on: Sue Wareham of Medical Association for Prevention of War and International Campaign…
Piggott, Michael: The Australian War Memorial should be for all Australians, not just veterans: submission regarding AWM Development Project
Michael Piggott* ‘The Australian War Memorial should be for all Australians, not just veterans: submission regarding AWM Development Project’, Honest History, 5 August 2020 (Note: This article was originally a submission to the Australian War Memorial on its ‘final preliminary…
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Medical Association for Prevention of War resources on the War Memorial as supplicant of arms companies and as vainglorious builder
Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) has long been a critic of warmongering and related pathologies. (Use our Honest History search engine to find MAPW work on this site, including its curriculum material for school children.) MAPW’s website contains…
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McKay, Judith & Don Watson: False premise, inappropriate process, unacceptable impact: submission to the Australian War Memorial on proposed redevelopment
Judith McKay & Don Watson* ‘False premise, inappropriate process, unacceptable impact: submission to the Australian War Memorial on proposed redevelopment’, Honest History, 4 August 2020 (Note: This article was originally a submission to the Australian War Memorial on its ‘final…
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Collaery, Bernard: Oil under Troubled Water: Australia’s Timor Sea Intrigue
Bernard Collaery Oil under Troubled Water: Australia’s Timor Sea Intrigue, Melbourne University Press, 2020; electronic edition available In May 2018 Bernard Collaery, a former Attorney-General of the Australian Capital Territory and long-term legal counsel to the government of East Timor,…
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Broinowski, Alison: ‘A petroleum-intoxicated kleptocracy’: Bernard Collaery on Australia and Timor-Leste
Alison Broinowski* ‘“A petroleum-intoxicated kleptocracy”: Bernard Collaery on Australia and Timor-Leste’, Honest History, 4 August 2020 Alison Broinowski reviews Bernard Collaery’s, Oil under Troubled Water: Australia’s Timor Sea Intrigue ©Alison Broinowski 2020 In response to the ‘war on terror’, multiple…
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Stephens, David: ‘False premises’, ‘underplayed and glossed over’, ‘overblown claims and dodgy methodology’: Heritage Guardians takes a close look at War Memorial’s EPBC documentation
David Stephens* ‘”False premises”, “underplayed and glossed over”, “overblown claims and dodgy methodology”‘: Heritage Guardians takes a close look at War Memorial’s EPBC documentation’, Honest History, 2 August 2020 The Australian War Memorial’s ‘final preliminary documentation’ under the heritage provisions…
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Kerry Stokes gets 12 more months on War Memorial Council – but will Tony Abbott step up as Chair?
Veterans’ Affairs Minister, Darren Chester, has announced that Kerry Stokes has been reappointed to the Australian War Memorial Council for 12 months. This short-term appointment – it’s usually three years – raises the question of whether there is a succession…
Goodwin, Paul with Gordon Goodwin: The Last Navigator
Paul Goodwin with Gordon Goodwin The Last Navigator, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2020 Promoted as ‘From the Queensland bush to Bomber Command and Pathfinders … a true story of courage and survival against the odds’. This is the powerful first-hand…
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Alexander, Kristen: Defining moments in the skies over Germany and beyond
Kristen Alexander ‘Defining moments in the skies over Germany and beyond’, Honest History, 29 July 2020 Kristen Alexander reviews The Last Navigator by Paul Goodwin with Gordon Goodwin ‘War was my father’s defining moment’, Paul Goodwin writes. It released Ralph…
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Williams, Elliot: Australian War Memorial tells volunteers they can lose role if they speak publicly about redevelopment
Elliot Williams ‘Australian War Memorial tells volunteers they can lose role if they speak publicly about redevelopment‘, Canberra Times, 28 July 2020 (pdf of our subscriber copy) Update 1 September 2020: Paddy Gourley writes in CT Public Sector Informant (paywall…
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Something for nothing: June edition of Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society is open access online
Covid-19 brings some benefits, after all. The Royal Australian Historical Society has kindly made its June edition open access and you can find it here. In this edition of JRAHS, you will find the following articles: The elusive Reginald Benjamin Levien:…
Sue Salthouse: disability advocate and powerful force for change
Sue Salthouse, 2020 ACT Senior Citizen of the Year, 2015 Canberra Citizen of the Year, and 2014 ACT Senior Woman of the Year, died after a traffic accident on Monday. Sue was a passionate advocate for disability and other causes.…
So much of Canberra’s history flows through and around our Lake
Lake Burley Griffin Guardians are trying to save Canberra’s iconic Lake Burley Griffin from development. Here is an informative flyer. 16 July 2020 Wikipedia
Snake oil and surveys: media coverage of Public Works Committee inquiry into War Memorial project
Yesterday’s hearing of the Public Works Committee threw up extensive media coverage by ABC TV (mark 22.0), AAP in lots of regional papers, ABC News, Canberra Times, Canberra City News, Guardian Australia, Sydney Morning Herald. Highlights were the testimony (against…
McIlroy, Tom: “Shameful”: Ex-directors oppose War Memorial redevelopment
Tom McIlroy ‘”Shameful”; Ex-directors oppose War Memorial redevelopment’, Australian Financial Review, 13 July 2020 (pdf from our subscription) Quotes former Directors Gower and Kelson and Heritage Guardians’ David Stephens in advance of Public Works Committee. ‘Former bosses of the Australian…
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Stephens, David: Timetable for War Memorial heritage consultation on $498m project – but what is wrong with this picture?
David Stephens* ‘Timetable for War Memorial heritage consultation on $498m project – but what is wrong with this picture?’ Honest History, 12 July 2020 Readers who have been using the lockdown or bad weather as a reason to stay indoors…
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War Memorial expansion opponents appear before Public Works Committee, Tuesday, 14 July
The Public Works Committee (PWC) will hold a public hearing by teleconference next Tuesday, 14 July, into the Australian War Memorial Development Project. You can listen in on Parliament House Live. The hearing commences at 11.00am. Reflecting the fact that…
Honest History E-Newsletter No. 65: Special Edition, 6 July 2020: War Memorial project threatens national heritage
ISSN: 2202-5561 © Heritage Guardians advice to readers intending to provide feedback to the Australian War Memorial on heritage aspects of the Memorial’s $498m extensions project The Memorial has placed on its website a mass of documentation on the extensions…
Australian War Memorial $498m project: Public comments sought on heritage impacts: Time to say ‘No!’
The Australian War Memorial has placed on its website a mass of documentation on its proposed $498m extensions. There were also newspaper advertisements carrying the same information. Public feedback will be accepted up till 5 pm, Friday, 31 July. Readers…
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Daley, Paul: The Australian War Memorial’s expansion money would be better spent on traumatised veterans
Paul Daley ‘The Australian War Memorial’s expansion money would be better spent on traumatised veterans‘, Guardian Australia, 3 July 2020 Update later: More than 85 comments by 6.00 pm AEST, most with thumbs up attached – and not one supporting…
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Stephens, David: From the Honest History vault: Does Defence spending lead to war, and does it make any sense against pandemics?
David Stephens* ‘From the Honest History vault: Does Defence spending lead to war, and does it make any sense against pandemics?’ Honest History, 2 July 2020 updated Update 3 July 2020: Former Defence Secretary, Paul Barratt, in Inside Story on…
Roundup of War Memorial project news – as Public Works and heritage examinations crank up
Heritage Guardians PWC submission No. 15 with 82 signatures; Heritage Guardians detailed PWC submission No. 40; all other PWC submissions. *** Update 2 July 2020: After a long delay, final preliminary documentation on heritage aspects under the Environment Protection and…
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Stephens, David: From the Honest History vault: Three reviews of books on the black history of the wide brown land
David Stephens* From the Honest History vault: Three reviews of books on the black history of the wide brown land, Honest History, 28 June 2020 Black Lives Matter. Indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody at grossly disproportionate rates. Honest History…
Dye, Josh & Nick Galvin: Fresh spotlight on War Memorial expansion after National Gallery cuts
Josh Dye & Nick Galvin ‘Fresh spotlight on War Memorial expansion after National Gallery cuts‘, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 2020 War Memorial project compared with cuts at National Gallery, National Library, and ABC. Notes that vast majority of Public…
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Honest History E-newsletter No. 64: Special Edition, 22 June 2020
ISSN: 2202-5561 © Heritage Guardians campaign against unnecessary and extravagant $498m extensions to Australian War Memorial: progress report Heritage Guardians have made two submissions to the parliamentary Public Works Committee (PWC) inquiry into the War Memorial project. Submission No. 15…
ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr, critical of spending on Australian War Memorial
Update 27 June 2020: Nine Newspapers story on contrast between largesse at War Memorial and cuts elsewhere. Update 25 June 2020: ‘With the exception of the Australian War Memorial, which will receive a controversial $500 million expansion, Australia’s national cultural organisations have…
Four posts from Pearls and Irritations, an excellent non-MSM blog
Just posted today on Pearls and Irritations is historian, Henry Reynolds, on some history currently hitting the headlines, noting among other things how graffiti on statues got more coverage in some corners of the media than the destruction of an…
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Rollo, Stuart: Collateral murder in a militarised society
Stuart Rollo ‘Collateral murder in a militarised society‘, Overland, 22 June 2020 Subtle analysis of how the links between the uniformed military, particularly the SAS, arms manufacturers and exporters, and the commemoration industry are gradually making Australia more militarised. These…
Frontier War stories on Boe Spearim podcast: adding to our knowledge of a bloody past
There is a lot of material on the Honest History site about the Frontier Wars and massacres of First Australians. Use our Search engine to find these posts or scroll through our special subject 2014-17, First Peoples. There’s also Jane…
Three reads for a wet weekend – including a long read on the orange elephant in the room of 2020
Inside Story, The Conversation and the New York Review of Books. All part of the mainstream media, but regularly carrying well-written, substantial think pieces, riffing off current events, but always with current relevance. Inside Story has a piece by Norman…
Shuffling of Large Technology Objects is nothing to worry about, says War Memorial
Earlier this week, workmen at the Australian War Memorial removed from adjacent to the Memorial’s Anzac Hall, a Bushmaster (a large armoured vehicle), an LAV-25 (a middle-sized armoured vehicle), and a Centurion Battle Tank. These artefacts were relocated on plinths…
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Heritage Guardians submission now posted on Public Works Committee site asks some important questions about the mysterious genesis of the $498m War Memorial project
Heritage Guardians’ submission to the Public Works Committee inquiry on the Australian War Memorial project has been posted on the PWC site as Submission No. 40. (Earlier Heritage Guardians submission.) It opens thus: The Memorial can meet its obligations without…
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Van Teeseling, Ingeborg: When white Australians fought against the Maori for control of their land
Ingeborg van Teeseling ‘When white Australians fought against the Maori for control of their land‘, The Big Smoke, 14 June 2020 Australian colonists signed on in the 186os to help the New Zealand Pakeha (whites) deal with the Maori inhabitants…
Knaus, Christopher: Former war memorial heads join call to redirect $500m for ‘grandiose’ expansion to veterans
Christopher Knaus ‘Former war memorial heads join call to redirect $500m for “grandiose” expansion to veterans‘, Guardian Australia, 16 June 2020 Update 18 June 2020: Later Heritage Guardians submission. *** Eighty-two people sign submission to Public Works Committee inquiry (submission…
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Stephens, David: From the Honest History vault: A serious look at what happened at Maralinga
David Stephens* ‘From the Honest History vault: A serious look at what happened at Maralinga’, Honest History, 15 June 2020 updated For those who find the ABC’s current offering, Operation Buffalo, a bit quirky – or just plain silly**, here…
Anthony, Thalia & Stephen Gray: Was there slavery in Australia? Yes. It shouldn’t even be up for debate
Thalia Anthony & Stephen Gray ‘Was there slavery in Australia? Yes. It shouldn’t even be up for debate‘, The Conversation, 11 June 2020 Comprehensive catalogue of slavery in Australia, with slavery being defined as by the United Nations. Article 1…
Edwards, Peter: Law, Politics and Intelligence: A Life of Robert Hope
Peter Edwards Law, Politics and Intelligence: A Life of Robert Hope, NewSouth, Sydney, 2020 Robert Marsden Hope (1919–99), a NSW Supreme Court judge, shaped the structures, operations and doctrines of Australia’s intelligence agencies more than any other individual. Commissioned by…
Broinowski, Alison: Hope of both sides
Alison Broinowski * ‘Hope of both sides’, Honest History, 12 June 2020 ©Alison Broinowski 2020 Alison Broinowski reviews Law, Politics and Intelligence: A Life of Robert Hope, by Peter Edwards Just when Ministers were taking advantage of the pandemic to…
Abjorensen, Norman: Before the triumphs and the tragedies
Norman Abjorensen ‘Before the triumphs and the tragedies‘, Inside Story, 2 June 2020 Review of Becoming John Curtin and James Scullin: The Making of the Modern Labor Party, by Liam Byrne. It was a time of intense political ferment [says…
Knaus, Christopher: ‘Deeply offensive’: Australian War Memorial urged not to renew BAE sponsorship
Christopher Knaus ‘“Deeply offensive”: Australian War Memorial urged not to renew BAE sponsorship‘, Guardian Australia, 5 June 2020 Update 25 June 2020: We understand from the Memorial that the BAE agreement does not in fact expire during June. We understand…
Stephens, David: Will the Australian War Memorial renew its ‘naming rights for donations’ deal with arms manufacturer BAE Systems?
David Stephens* Update 21 April 2022: Another dirty deal to go through, this time between War Memorial and Lockheed Martin, despite 300 veterans writing letters to Memorial against the deal. Chris Knaus again. Update 1 April 2022: Memorial response to…
From the Honest History vault: Whether a country is fascist is a matter of checking gauges, not ticking boxes
There have been suggestions that President Trump is or has become a fascist and that the United States itself is becoming a fascist state. As the 45th President himself says, ‘Maybe, maybe not’. But in assessing the state of play,…
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Liddle, Celeste: Seeing the con in reconciliation
Celeste Liddle ‘Seeing the con in reconciliation‘, Eureka Street, 28 May 2020 Arrernte feminist writer on the annual disappointment of Reconciliation Week, which began on 27 May. Comments section is strong also. We don’t have ‘land rights’ [says Liddle], just…
National Library of Australia cuts back on Asian focus; contrast to War Memorial funding for expansion
ANU Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald last week about the National Library’s decision to cease collecting material on Japan, Korea and all of mainland Southeast Asia, retaining only some reduced acquisition of information on China, Indonesia…
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Les Carlyon Literary Prize at the Australian War Memorial: $10 000 prize for first-time authors
We missed this earlier when it was announced in Anzac week, but here are the details. The prize will be awarded biennially for an author’s first book or major publication relating to Australian military history, Australian social military history, or…
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High Court opens way to access to Queen-Kerr letters; now up to the National Archives
Update 16 June 2020: National Archives continues to delay. Update 3 June 2020: Chris Knaus in Guardian Australia on Archives’ disappointing first reaction. Update 2 June 2020: Daniel Sleiman in Eureka Street. Update 1 June 2020: Jenny Hocking in Pearls…
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Congratulations to winners of AHA/Honest History Teacher Scholarship
This from the latest newsletter of the Australian Historical Association: The AHA would like to thank all who applied for the AHA/Honest History Teacher Scholarship. The scheme supports a secondary school History teacher to attend the annual Australian Historical Association Conference to…
Honest History E-Newsletter No. 63, 27 May 2020: Special Edition
ISSN: 2202-5561 © Public Works Committee (PWC) Inquiry into $498m Australian War Memorial expansion program For the last 15 months, Honest History and Heritage Guardians have made the case against the War Memorial expansion project. A summary of our arguments…
Aktar, Ayhan: The struggle between nationalist and jihadist narratives of Gallipoli, 1915-2015
Ayhan Aktar ‘The struggle between nationalist and jihadist narratives of Gallipoli, 1915-2015‘, Forum for Modern Language Studies, Vol. 56, No. 2, April 2020, pp. 213-28 (paywall) There have been a number of milestones in the (re-)writing of the history of…
Fraser, Nancy, Susan Neiman, Thomas Piketty, and 3000 scholars from 600 universities around the world: Humans are not resources. Coronavirus shows why we must democratise work
Nancy Fraser, Susan Neiman, Thomas Piketty, and 3000 scholars from 600 universities around the world ‘Humans are not resources. Coronavirus shows why we must democratise work‘, Guardian, 16 May 2020 For a while (2014-17), Honest History ran ‘Inequality’ as a…
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Stephens, David: Never the twain shall meet? Disturbing deep dive into documentation on War Memorial project
David Stephens* ‘Never the twain shall meet? Disturbing deep dive into documentation on War Memorial project’, Honest History, 19 May 2020 Honest History and Heritage Guardians are making submissions to the Public Works Committee inquiry on the War Memorial project…
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Scrimgeour, Anne: On Red Earth Walking: The Pilbara Aboriginal Strike, Western Australia 1946–1949
Anne Scrimgeour On Red Earth Walking: The Pilbara Aboriginal Strike, Western Australia 1946–1949, Monash University Publishing, Melbourne, 2020 The book is reviewed for Honest History by Rolf Gerritsen. Other reviews: Kathy Gollan in Newtown Review of Books; Jan Richardson in…
Gerritsen, Rolf: A tour de force investigation of Indigenous and labour history
Rolf Gerritsen* ‘A tour de force investigation of Indigenous and labour history’, Honest History, 12 May 2020 Rolf Gerritsen reviews On Red Earth Walking: The Pilbara Aboriginal Strike, Western Australia 1946-1949, by Anne Scrimgeour This history is the product of…
Wareham, Sue: Prioritising health
Sue Wareham ‘Prioritising health‘, Pearls and Irritations, 11 May 2020 Global military spending continues to rise. Critical health goals could be achieved for a fraction of what we spend on wars. Focussing funding on health rather than military spending, globally…
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Canberra Times exchange shows War Memorial extensions issues still unresolved
Heritage Guardians campaign diary follows the story from early 2019 of the campaign against the Memorial project *** The letters column of the Canberra Times has always been an arena of contest on live issues in the national capital –…
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Jackson, Andra: The lasting legacy of the Vietnam Moratorium
Andra Jackson ‘The lasting legacy of the Vietnam Moratorium‘, Eureka Street, 8 May 2020 An appropriate marking of the 5oth anniversary of the Moratorium demonstration in Melbourne’s Bourke Street, by someone who was there (as was the author of this…
Inside track for War Memorial expansion project: Public Works Committee inquiry commenced
Update 9 May 2020 On the point about the two processes [Heritage and Public Works Committee], note that there will be 20 business days for public comment on ‘final preliminary documentation’ from the War Memorial on heritage aspects of the project, followed …
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Honest History E-newsletter No. 62, 5 May 2020
ISSN: 2202-5561 © This is our first newsletter for more than four months and, indeed, our first for 2020 but, with one thing and another, it has been a hectic year. Recently on honesthistory.net.au, we expose the nonsensical claim that…
Stephens, David: Afghanistan not underdone at Australian War Memorial (thanks to Boeing): a flaw in argument for extensions
Heritage Guardians campaign diary follows the story from early 2019 of the campaign against the Memorial project *** David Stephens* ‘Afghanistan not underdone at Australian War Memorial (thanks to Boeing): a flaw in argument for extensions’, Honest History, 4 May…
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Buckley, Ian: A Biographic View of the West
Ian Buckley A Biographic View of the West: February 2020, ANU Emeritus Faculty, Canberra, 2020 According to the author, ‘a recent essay on the accumulating outcomes of wars and other mercantile practices over the centuries. All extremely counter-productive, they are…
Smaal, Yorick & Mark Finnane: Diggers doing time? Australian courts martial 1914-19
Yorick Smaal & Mark Finnane* ‘Diggers doing time? Australian courts martial 1914-19’, Honest History, 30 April 2020 [Note: The authors are seeking help from volunteer citizen historians. See the endnote. HH] From 1916, Anzac Day was commemorated to remember the…
Cook 250 years on: Paul Daley and others mark a necessarily low key anniversary
Update 4 May 2020: Henry Reynolds in Pearls and Irritations on Dutch voyages prior to Cook. Update 3 May 2020: Lynette Russell of Monash University on pre-Cook contacts. Update 1 May 2020: Nicholas Thomas in Inside Story. Update 30 April…