Singapore was promoted as a fortress, an icon of British influence and prestige in the far east, and a point from which the empire could exercise power over its dominions in the Pacific. The reality of Singapore was quite different. Far from being an icon of British power and prestige, it typified an empire that… Continue reading 75 Years – The Fall of Singapore
Category: History
Cause and Effect: The Legacy of Mr Fluffy
On a winter day, the roar of a motor and rushing air disturbs the cool calm of suburban Canberra. A man on the back of a truck cuts open a hessian sack and plunges his hand in, taking out a clump of loose, grey, fibrous material; dropping it into the beating metal blades of… Continue reading Cause and Effect: The Legacy of Mr Fluffy
Telling Our Story: History, Orthodoxy and Ideology
On an autumn day, in a church in The Rocks, an Aboriginal farmhand from the Shoalhaven married the daughter of a Yorkshireman. Such a union is hardly controversial by today’s standards, but in 1864, a time when prejudice relegated Aboriginal people to a status afforded little recognition and few rights, it was enough to attract… Continue reading Telling Our Story: History, Orthodoxy and Ideology
The Ghosts of Bush Weeks Past
Bush week is a relatively timid affair nowadays, but there was a time when it was something more. A time when it was an infamous part of Canberra’s cultural calendar, when ANU students could shut down city streets and, for better or worse, their exploits were front page news. For a time, it served as… Continue reading The Ghosts of Bush Weeks Past
