Earning the Enemy’s Respect: Victoria Cross Recommendations from the Other Side

Reading time: 7 minutes
Many readers will be familiar with the 1964 epic movie Zulu, which depicts the 1879 landmark Battle of Rorke’s Drift in the Anglo-Zulu War. In the film, perhaps the most iconic scene takes place at the end of the movie, whereby the Zulu warriors chant in respectful salutation towards the British soldiers before withdrawing after the battle. Moving, cinematic, and honourable, it’s clear why the scene lives so memorably in the hearts of fans today.

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Why Aotearoa New Zealand’s early Polynesian settlement should be recognised with World Heritage Site status

Reading time: 5 minutes
Despite Aotearoa New Zealand’s rich and celebrated natural and cultural wonders, we have contributed only three to the international list: Te Wahipounamu in the South Island, Tongariro National Park in the North Island, and New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands.

While there is a good tentative list of potential submissions, we believe it is now out of date and the country needs to go further. Mostly, we need to be thinking in much broader terms about the reasons we value our heritage.

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Lemnos and Gallipoli Revealed – Podcast

Over the course of 1915, most of the 50,000 Australian personnel who served at Gallipoli passed through the island of Lemnos. Centring his attention on the Australian experience of the island, historian Jim Claven shares unique and humanising insights into the Gallipoli campaign.

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Second Battle of El Alamein: Australia Forces a Breach

Reading time: 8 minutes
The battle of El Alamein in late 1942 was the turning point for the North African campaign, which saw the fighting rage back and forth between Libya and Egypt. As with most of the battles in the region, Australians played a vital role in the eventual Allied victory. In this article, we go over their experiences during this pivotal battle.

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A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World – Audiobook

On his first journey Cook mapped the east coast of Australia, on his second the British Admiralty sent him into the vast Southern Ocean. Equipped with one of the first accurate chronometers, Cook pushed his small vessel not merely into the Roaring Forties or the Furious Fifties but become the first explorer to penetrate the Antarctic Circle, reaching an incredible Latitude 71 degrees South, just failing to discover Antarctica.

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History of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 – Audiobook

HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND FROM 1696 TO 1890 – AUDIOBOOK By George Sutherland (1855 – 1905),Alexander Sutherland (1852 – 1902) This work provides a history of the early political, social, and economic development of Australia and New Zealand. Since both British colonies became independent countries in the 1900s, this work does not relate those events. […]

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A short, sharp history of the bayonet

By Peter Monteath, Flinders University. Even the sound of a bayonet could be frightening. The audible whetting of blades in the enemy’s trenches could puncture a night’s rest with premonitions of steely death. The sight of gleaming blades, too, turned the stomach of many a soldier. For all the sheer, witless terror it could produce […]

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Battle of 42nd Street – Anzacs Proving Germany Could be Beaten

Morale can make all the difference on the battlefield. On the 27th May 1941, with the Greek island of Crete close to loss and the Allies in full retreat, a 12 minute moment of madness by Australian and New Zealand troops proved that aggression and bravery could overcome Germany’s elite troops.  By Richard Shrubb. Background […]

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Quantity Becomes a Quality All of Its Own

In the history of warfare, there have been mismatched conflicts where skilled forces have been gravely outnumbered By Caitlan Hester What leads to success or failure when quality grapples with quantity?  Does victory boil down to ingenuity or is it a sheer numbers game?  In this post, we’ll examine three times the underdog was underestimated; […]

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