The Anglo-Zanzibar War: The Shortest War in History
The story of the shortest war in history begins with a treaty between colonial powers. In 1890, Britain and Germany signed the Heligoland-Zanzibar treaty which secured spheres of influence in East Africa. Germany was given control of mainland Tanzania, while Zanzibar fell under British control.
How one woman pulled off the first consumer boycott – and helped inspire the British to abolish slavery
HOW ONE WOMAN PULLED OFF THE FIRST CONSUMER BOYCOTT – AND HELPED INSPIRE THE BRITISH TO ABOLISH SLAVERY Estimated reading time: 5 minutes While many companies have trumpeted their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, others are beginning to face consumer...
Knowledge of the Ancients: Early Measurements of the Earth
The desire to obtain knowledge of the world around us is a classic human trait. Investigations into the size, shape, and movement of the planet (and other planets) are constant throughout history, giving rise to several theories about the wider world. Some of these theories are made even more remarkable by their incredible accuracy, without all the tools and technologies we have to confirm them today.
The Battle of Greece – Australia’s Textbook Rear-Guard Action
Retreat doesn’t always mean defeat, sometimes it can be a victory to withdraw in good order and deny your enemy a total victory. This is was the outcome for the allied forces in Greece during April 1941, thanks in part to textbook rear-guard actions fought by Australian units, which allowed 50,732 men to escape the grasp of the advancing superior Axis force. But why were Australian units involved in Greece in the first place?
Oklahoma is – and always has been – Native land
OKLAHOMA IS – AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN – NATIVE LAND Reading time: 6 minutes Some Oklahomans are expressing trepidation about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that much of the eastern part of the state belongs to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. They...
People dropped whisky into their noses to treat Spanish flu. Here’s what else they took that would raise eyebrows today
PEOPLE DROPPED WHISKY INTO THEIR NOSES TO TREAT SPANISH FLU. HERE’S WHAT ELSE THEY TOOK THAT WOULD RAISE EYEBROWS TODAY Reading time: 6 minutes We’re researching COVID-19 in a fast-paced world with new data becoming available all the time. We track...
Gens Du Pays: A History of Quebec’s Struggle for Sovereignty
GENS DU PAYS: A HISTORY OF QUEBEC’S STRUGGLE FOR SOVEREIGNTY Reading time: 13 minutes Vive le Québec libre! The date was July 24th, 1967 and with those four words French president Charles de Gaulle announced to a frenzied Montréal crowd his support for a nationalist...
Escape from Greece – Podcast
ESCAPE FROM GREECE - PODCAST This podcast episode tells the story of Shanghai born John Robin Greaves, ‘Jack’, who emigrated to Australia in 1939 and volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force to serve overseas. The army would send Jack to the Middle East, then to...
The Australian Flying Corps, 1917–18
THE AUSTRALIAN FLYING CORPS, 1917–18 Reading time: 8 minutes By 1917, the men of the Australian Flying Corps’ No. 1 Squadron had been fighting in the Middle East for almost two years. Now Australia’s airmen were ready to join the allies’ broader campaign in the...
The fall of Singapore
THE FALL OF SINGAPORE Reading time: 14 minutes Japanese Soldiers enter Singapore. The Land Campaign Nothing in history is inevitable but the fall of Singapore Island after the defeat of British forces in Malaya came close to it. In December 1941 the Japanese...
The USAAF 49th Fighter Group over Darwin: a forgotten campaign
Reading time: 4 minutes USAAF 49TH Fighter Group P-40 Kittyhawk Fighters. Darwin, 1942 The prelude to the campaign of the 49th Fighter Group covers some of the darkest days of the Pacific War: the fall of Singapore on 15 February; the bombing of Darwin on 19 February...
Book Review: ‘Pacific Crucible: war at sea in the Pacific 1941–42′
Reading time: 4 minutes With ANZUS in the news at the moment, this book is a good way to understand where it all started. In early 1942, America needed Australia’s location linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans as a base from which to project power into...
Australia’s Great War in the air
AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WAR IN THE AIR Reading time: 5 minutes In January 1911, the Australian government announced its intention to form a flying corps to support the Army. Over the next few years men were recruited, an airbase established at Point Cook near Melbourne, and...
5 Inspiring Women Of History
5 INSPIRING WOMEN OF HISTORY Reading time: 10 minutes Throughout history, the world has witnessed influential women take the world by storm. Many have been pioneers for women’s rights, paving the way for future women to make their marks. Some made waves in the fight...
1917: our costliest year at war
1917: OUR COSTLIEST YEAR AT WAR Reading time: 5 minutes A century ago, in early 1917, Australian troops had already seen heavy fighting, on Gallipoli in 1915 and even more on the Western Front in 1916, which had cost some 23,000 lives. In July 1916 nearly 2,000 men...
How the Australian Secret Service Helped Overthrow the Chilean Government
HOW THE AUSTRALIAN SECRET SERVICE HELPED OVERTHROW THE CHILEAN GOVERNMENT Reading time: 8 minutes Recently, documents came to light that showed that the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) played a small but active role in the Chilean coup of 1973, when...
SIX of the best WORLD WAR II FILMS
SIX OF THE BEST WORLD WAR II FILMS World War II (1939-1945) was and remains the greatest conflict that humanity has ever seen both in scale and loss of life; perhaps no other singular event of world history has shaped us as much, continuing to have long-lasting and...
Walking with the Diggers
WALKING WITH THE DIGGERS Reading time: 5 minutes The Centenary Commemoration of the Great War continues to unearth real treasures from our military history, none more mesmerising than this Exhibition of photographs taken by Australian Diggers, Sailors and Airmen in...
The Coral Sea, 1942: a nation-saving battle
THE CORAL SEA, 1942: A NATION-SAVING BATTLE Reading time: 5 minutes The Battle of the Coral Sea isn’t as iconic in our national consciousness as Gallipoli, Kokoda, or even El Alamein, Villers-Bretonneux, Amiens or Beersheba. Those battles and others in the two world...
Australia’s War with France
AUSTRALIA'S WAR WITH FRANCE Reading time: 12 minutes The Nahr al-Kalb, or ‘Dog River’, meets the Mediterranean Sea just north of Beirut, after meandering thirty kilometres downstream from its wellspring in the Lebanon range. A four-lane highway overpass runs along...
Deng Xiaoping’s Rise to Power
Reading time: 6 minutes By orchestrating China’s transition to a market economy, Deng Xiaoping has left a lasting legacy on China and the world. After becoming the leader of the Communist Party of China in 1978, following Mao Zedong’s death two years earlier, Deng...
The German naval threat in the Indo-Pacific 1914–15
Reading time: 6 minutes British Navy officers approaching the wreck of the German Navy cruiser SMS Konigsberg in the Rufigi River south of Dar es Salaam. The Konigsberg had taken shelter in the river in December 1914 and withstood a British blockade until finally...
The Long History of Mandated Vaccines in the United States
THE LONG HISTORY OF MANDATED VACCINES IN THE UNITED STATES Reading time: 5 minutes Vaccines against smallpox during the Revolutionary War may have saved the Continental Army from defeat. It’s one example of how mandates have protected the health of Americans for more...
Gough’s remaking of Defence policy
Reading time: 4 minutes Gough Whitlam was a physical giant with an intellect to match. His flaws were pretty sizeable, too, and the pygmies who beset him were often from his own party. His self-mocking humour was immensely appealing, and could only be...