Australia

Other Countries Figured Out How to Reduce Gun Massacres

Australia, Britain and Canada took decisive and successful steps to reduce mass shootings since the 1990s. 

Why Has Australia’s History Been Left To Rot?

Historians are criticizing the Australian government's decision not to supply the funding the National Archives needs to digitize and preserve fragile and deteriorating documents, calling the "digital cliff" a potential national embarrassment. 

‘No Slavery in Australia’? These Pacific Islanders Tell a Different Story

The Black Lives Matter movement has offered a rare moment for the descendants of plantation laborers brought aboard ships in the 19th century to make their family histories known.

Pencil Leaners

by Jeff Sparrow

As Australia considers government support to artistic workers inspired by the US New Deal, important differences in context should be observed. 

Australia Heading Into New 'Fire Age', Warns Global Fire Historian

Thirty years ago, Stephen J. Pyne wrote the definitive history of fire in Australia and has just released an updated version of his book, Still Burning Bush.

Are We All Australians Yet?

by Tom Engelhardt

In movie terms, think of Australia as the previews. For most of us, the main feature is still to come. The problem is that the schedule for that feature may not be found in your local paper.

Ancient aboriginal aquaculture system older than Stonehenge uncovered by Australia wildfires

“It shows us they had a high level of technical skill, understanding of physics and of the natural environment.”

The Best Work in History Illuminates Life Now: An Interview with Angela Woollacott

by Erik Moshe

Historians must actively participate in the arenas of public discourse, to promote the vital role of our discipline in civic society.

'We want to say sorry': the historian whose great-uncle led the Coniston massacre

Only by engaging with ‘real ugliness’ can healing begin, Liza Dale-Hallett says.

A War Memorial Is Being Expanded. Some Say It Whitewashes History.

The Australian War Memorial, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, will grow to commemorate recent conflicts, including war zones in which Australia still has troops.

Outcry over word "Aboriginal" continues as historians push for ban on changing certificates

The decision by a West Australian bureaucrat to redact the word "Aboriginal" from official documents has created an outcry among archivists, genealogists and historians across Australia.

Australian university students dress as Ku Klux Klan and in blackface

Charles Sturt University investigates ‘politically incorrect’ themed student party.

Australia’s Least Likely Tourist Spot: A Test Site for Atom Bombs

Maralinga, a barren stretch of land in South Australia’s remote western desert, is the country’s only former nuclear test site open to tourists.

In Australia, historians and artists have turned to cartography to record the widespread killing of Indigenous people

Chief among them is historian Lyndall Ryan, who says her fellow historians are in denial about the extent of the massacres.

Slavery remains in the modern world

The number of slaves worldwide is estimated at 45.8 million. Australia is now trying to put a stop to it.

China Bars Historian at Australian University From Leaving, Lawyer Says

Feng Chongyi, a Chinese-born professor at an Australian university who has often criticized Beijing’s crackdown on political dissent, has been barred from leaving China and is being questioned by state security officers as a suspected threat to national security.

New South Wales (Australia) to offer reparations to Stolen Generations

The government will acknowledge the harm inflicted on Aboriginal communities by the forcible removal of children.

Discovery, settlement or invasion?

by Peter Kilroy

The power of language in Australia’s historical narrative.

Australia’s ‘history wars’ reignite

Debate over 'discovery' of Australia is alive and well – in the mind of one Sydney newspaper editor.

Letters collection offers unique glimpse into ordeal of Australian aborigines

Letters by Noongar people pleading for the return of their stolen children or requesting access to the old age pension after a lifetime's work will come together in a new project aimed at uncovering a hidden side of Indigenous history.