Australia's War in the Mediterranean

Flies, filth and bully beef: life at Gallipoli in 1915

Flies, filth and bully beef: life at Gallipoli in 1915

Apr 24, 2025

Reading time: 6 minutes
Many factors contributed to making the Gallipoli battlefield an almost unendurable place for all soldiers. The constant noise, cramped unsanitary conditions, disease, stenches, daily death of comrades, terrible food, lack of rest and thirst all contributed to the most gruelling conditions.

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More than a century on, Gallipoli campaign should be more than just a symbol of futility

More than a century on, Gallipoli campaign should be more than just a symbol of futility

Apr 22, 2025

Reading time: 6 minutes
But the Gallipoli campaign’s result was especially troubling even at the time. Memorial services were held in April 1916 on the first anniversary of the initial landings. Subsequently, this anniversary has acquired special significance as Anzac Day, helping to shape and mark the transformation of Australia and New Zealand from British dominions to independent nations. And Gallipoli has become almost as notorious in British memory as the Somme and Passchendaele in symbolising the carnage of the war. The point is not simply the scale of the losses. It is also the fact that the campaign was so obviously a resounding defeat. What could have been more futile?

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The forgotten Anzacs: ‘honoured guests’ of the Sultan

The forgotten Anzacs: ‘honoured guests’ of the Sultan

Apr 21, 2025

Reading time: 7 minutes
As we undertake our annual remembrance of Australians at war, some attention should be paid to those personnel who were taken captive by the enemy and then faced long years in brutal conditions. Enduring starvation, beatings, disease, death marches and forced labour in extreme climatic conditions, many of them died from casual neglect, deliberate abuse and untreated medical conditions. And I’m not talking about prisoners of the Japanese in World War Two, but Australians taken captive by Ottoman forces during The Great War.

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What exactly is the Holy Grail – and why has its meaning eluded us for centuries?

What exactly is the Holy Grail – and why has its meaning eluded us for centuries?

Apr 14, 2025

Reading time: 6 minutes
Type “Holy Grail” into Google and … well, you probably don’t need me to finish that sentence. The sheer multiplicity of what any search engine throws up demonstrates that there is no clear consensus as to what the Grail is or was. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people out there claiming to know its history, true meaning and even where to find it.

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Military History

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The Catalpa Rescue: the Daring Escape of Irish Rebels from Australia

The Catalpa Rescue: the Daring Escape of Irish Rebels from Australia

Apr 10, 2025

Reading time: 12 minutes When a plan to overthrow English rule in Ireland was foiled in the 1860s, hundreds of Fenian rebels were arrested and convicted. A handful of those were condemned to transportation to Australia with no hope of pardon or of ever seeing their families again.

Political and Economic History

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Does the Roman road network influence European prosperity even today?

Does the Roman road network influence European prosperity even today?

Apr 7, 2025

Reading time: 5 minutes If there's one thing the ancient Romans are famous for, its their roads. The empire was criss-crossed with them, mainly to quickly shuttle the legions about, but they also facilitated trade. We know this network survived the collapse of the empire, but could it influence the European economy to this day?

Social and Cultural History

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Hidden in plain sight: Finding working-class women in The National Archives

Hidden in plain sight: Finding working-class women in The National Archives

Mar 31, 2025

Reading time: 10 minutes This article will make use of a particularly interesting case study of pit brow women in Lancashire, to explore the complexities and opportunities associated with archival work. The women’s lives can be revealed through analysis of documents from sources in the Copyright Office, and the Ministry of Power collections. By identifying strengths and weaknesses of records, they can be analysed with greater depth and nuance, so that they are used most effectively during an exploration of the past.

History Audiobooks

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

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 Guild would like to acknowledge the Boonwurrung people, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are based, and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.