For decades the Australian War Memorial Council has denied the need for the full recognition of Australia’s first wars – the Frontier Wars – despite the overwhelming evidence of actions which today would be regarded as not only war but also war crimes.
In the 19th century governments and settlers were clear about their intentions – to wage war on Indigenous Australians. Time and time again they used the word ‘war’ to describe their actions.
But the Australian War Memorial Council would have us believe these were not real wars but events which might best be recorded in a few museums.
This Defending Country Memorial Project website details the overwhelming evidence that the War Memorial is wrong – evidence in books, colonial records, official reports, and oral histories.
Part of the problem is the entrenched views of a Memorial Council which does not properly represent the views of Australia’s leading historians and many, many veterans.
We need to recognise the services of our veterans and the sacrifices of those who died or suffered for the rest of their lives from physical and mental wounds.
But we also need to tell the truth about all our wars and tell it in the Memorial.
Tomorrow we have a detailed analysis of how the Memorial is trying to evade what must be an important priority in commemorating all our country’s wars.
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