Remember, too, the forgotten war
Editorial The Age April 25, 2014
Today, Anzac Day, commemorates those Australian and New Zealanders who fell 99 years ago at a muddy beach in a cove at Gallipoli, described as 'a small constrained area surrounded by the sea and steep terrain'. More than 620 Australians died on the first day of this protracted campaign against the Turks. By December, more than 8000 Australians were killed.......
Although the Gallipoli centenary falls in 2015, this Anzac Day effectively defines the beginning of an arc of commemoration that will stretch over four years, until the centenary of the Armistice, on November 11, 2018. During this time, we will have cause to honour all those who have fought in all foreign fields.
But what of those who have fought and perished on our own soil? Should this also be a time to begin to broaden our consciousness to account for the protracted series of colonial conflicts within our borders; bloody and unnecessary conflicts that form a significant part of Australia's own bellicose and, indeed, shameful, past?
........ Although the exact number of Aborigines killed between 1788 and the early years of the 20th century is not yet known, Mr (Henry) Reynolds says research over the past 10 years indicates a sharply revised increase from a 1981 estimate of 20,000 deaths to more than 30,000 deaths..........
Mr Reynolds .......... reasons, it was understood this was 'a kind of warfare similar to conflict fought in other parts of the empire'. If this is so, doesn't it follow that this forgotten war should be worthy of remembrance, and accorded the same national prominence? Certainly, it is an essential chapter, rather than a footnote, in history........
........Today, as we respect the fallen of Gallipoli and begin to deepen our understanding of the bitter battles of Fromelles and the Somme and other theatres of war, it is also time to give thought to what happened long before in Queen Victoria's name. In doing so, we would be more in line with our close friends across the Tasman, where the New Zealand Wars (formerly the Maori Wars) now comprise an integral part of that nation's story.
This is not to sully the memory of Australian Diggers, but to add to it by presenting a complete record of war, abroad and at home.
