Australian History

Sciences & Technology

Happy 70th Birthday to Australia's first computing class

We now carry computers in our pockets, but in 1955, the University of Melbourne became home to the two-tonne CSIRAC computer. Our picture gallery celebrates 70 years of Australia’s first university computing department

Politics & Society

|

Research

What 174 years of bushfire records teach us about emergency management

Over the course of almost two centuries of settler fire history, a clear pattern has emerged – Victoria learns from fire

Arts & Culture

|

Book extract

‘Collective action by working people has transformed Australian history time and again’

From wages and working conditions to the eight-hour day, a new book brings together some of the life stories of the people who propelled Australia’s union movement

Arts & Culture

|

Book extract

Myths of nations

A new book provides a timely look at the foundation myth of Gallipoli as a sacred bearer of Australian national identity, disentangling it from history, memory and forgetting

Arts & Culture

|

Book extract

Bushrangers in their own words

Most bushrangers are best known from semi-fictional accounts written decades after their deaths, but a new book uncovers a few that told their own stories

Arts & Culture

Walt Disney’s ‘love affair’ with Australia

A new book explores the many – often surprising – connections between Walt Disney and Australia, most of which have faded from modern memory

Health & Medicine

|

Opinion

Could climate change bring malaria back to Australia?

Australia eradicated malaria back in the late 1970s, but as our climate continues to change, could the deadly disease make a return?

Politics & Society

|

Opinion

‘Labor is a fair-weather friend of unionism’

With various Australian elections on the horizon, it shouldn’t be a surprise Labor governments are distancing themselves from the CFMEU. It’s happened throughout their history

Health & Medicine

Dental care and healthcare are the same thing

A new book on the history of dental health in Victoria calls for a greater focus on prevention and more government-funded dental services

Politics & Society

A new Australia Day for everyone

26 January is a divisive and illogical date to celebrate our country. An alternative date acknowledges Indigenous history while also reflecting modern Australia