Connecting you with Australian culture online
Latest news & events (RSS format) New Australian Stories (RSS format)
February - Fabulous festivals in the Year of the Tiger
Contemporary artists Community radio New circus in Australia
Australian weather and the seasons European discovery and the colonisation of Australia Convicts and the British colonies in Australia Great Barrier Reef Australian Indigenous cultural heritage Sydney Opera House Australian food and drink The Japanese bombing of Darwin and northern Australia Christmas season celebrations in Australia Modern Australian fashion
Around 16,000 Australians volunteered to fight for Britain against the Dutch-Afrikaner, or Boer, settlers in South Africa from 1899 to 1902. Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial: P01065.001. Matthews, Australian Light Horse in Boer War uniform. ...
And nowhere is this more apparent than in the actions of our front-line troops—soldiers or nurses—whether in the trenches, as prisoners of war or on leave. The significance of sport for Australian soldiers, from the First World War through to...
Australia has a strong and vibrant history of political cartooning. Since the 1830s, when political cartoons were first featured in Australian newspapers, they have provided satirical, witty or humorous comment on political and public affairs, social cus...
Merchant vessels Barossa and Neptuna burning in Darwin Harbour near the jetty after receiving direct hits during the first Japanese air raid on 19 February 1942. During the Second World War, the Japanese flew 64 raids on Darwin and 33 raids on other targ...
While Australia has no single uniform national costume, an Australian national dress style, based on specific local dress styles, has emerged in response to climate, lifestyle and identity. An Australian style can be seen clearly in the main types of loc...
Nicola Finetti, Dress of silk georgette, silk chiffon and metallic embroidery on silk organza. Fashion can be defined by colour, cut, cloth, garment type, garment styles and interpretation of looks. Chinese silk embroidered shawls and Chinese surcoats b...
A lady holding a small child [Quarantine Station], Tom Gray Collection, 3. Image courtesy of Manly Quarantine Station. Eventually, the arrival of people from diverse societies created a cultural diversity that is now an integral part of Australian society...
Image courtesy of the Migration Museum, History Trust of South Australia. The hundreds of thousands of people who arrived in Australia after the First World War greatly influenced Australia becoming a modern society. Image courtesy of the Australian War ...
Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial: P01404.028. One of the most well-known Australian engagements of the Vietnam War was the Battle of Long Tan, 17-20 August 1966. Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial: COL/67/0140/VN. ...
Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial. The myth of the digger and the larrikin hero is an important part of the Australian experience of pastoralism, the goldfields, bushranging, shearing and droving. The slang term 'digger' re-surfaced during th...
Image courtesy of AAP Images. For many Australians, the experience of visiting a place where Australians died and suffered during war is a reminder of the real meaning of the day. Defence Minister Robert Hill and Captain Nick Berry during ANZAC day dawn ...
Originally called Armistice Day, this day commemorated the end of the hostilities for the Great War (World War I), the signing of the armistice, which occurred on 11 November 1918 - the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Armistice Day was obser...
Patriotic music written in wartime has been used to express national pride, spread propaganda, encourage enlistment and motivate troops serving in Australia and on overseas duty. Until the First World War, patriotic music written for wars tended to dwell...
Songs in wartime reflect attitudes about Australia's participation in conflict and war—from the Sudan War in 1885 to the First Gulf War (1990–1991). Some of the most well-known and colourful examples of wartime songs lauding heroes come from ...
Image courtesy of Australian War Memorial: VIC1426. The involvement of Australian women as nurses in war began in 1898 with the formation of the Australian Nursing Service of New South Wales, from which sixty nurses served in The Boer War. According to th...
Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial. The involvement of Australian women in each war is closely connected to their role in society at different times, and the nature of each war. Australia has been involved in a number of wars including The Boer...
Perth Dead Persons' Society (more info)
The Dead Persons' Society aims to promote an interest in genealogy via the internet (or bulletin board systems) in a social environment, to promote the production and distribution of genealogical indexes and other research tools and to foster cooperation,
The two indexes are called: 1. Index to Military Service Records, 1899-1901 and, 2. Index to Pay Books, 1899-1902. This Index was compiled from QSA Item ID18351, Military service records. 5th South African Contingent, No. ...
Boer War The outbreak of the Boer War in 1899 saw each of Australia's colonies raise contingents of volunteers to send to South Africa to serve as units within the British army. The Boer War gave Western Australians a chance to show their patriotism and ...
If you can see this message, you are probably not seeing this site in the way it was designed. This site uses cascading style sheets (CSS2) to control the way in which elements are displayed on the page.
You will still be able to access everything in this site, but we do recommend you upgrade your browser to a more recent, standards compliant, browser.