June 7 marks the centenary of the Battle of Messines, a battle in which Anzacs and Irishmen fought alongside each other.
Messines was a battle that promised hope on many levels: it was a battle well planned and well executed, one designed to minimise casualties, and a battle which had a successful outcome, up to then a rare occurrence for the Allies after 1914.… Read the rest
The referendum of 27 May 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. Endorsed by 90.77% of the votes cast and a majority of votes in all six states, the amendments empowered the federal parliament to legislate for the Aboriginal race in the states and included Aboriginal Australians in determinations of the population.… Read the rest
As 2016, the centenary year of the Easter Rising, draws to a close a new film has just been released about the Anzacs who were caught up in the fighting in Dublin. The film “Anzacs and The Rising” by Stephen Kearney focuses on the death of Gerald Keogh, a rebel messenger shot dead by Anzac soldiers posted on the roof of Trinity College.… Read the rest
December 7 marks the 101st anniversary of the Battle of Kosturino, a little-known action in the little-known Macedonian campaign during the very well-known First World War. While this minor clash in the Balkans in December 1915 is of little significance in the overall context of the war, its interest for me as an Australian is that the battle involved troops from the 10th (Irish) Division, recently transferred from Gallipoli where the division’s 29th Brigade had served alongside the Anzacs during the August offensive at Lone Pine, Quinn’s Post, Chunuk Bair and Hill 60.… Read the rest
During the First World War the Australian government in 1916 and again in 1917 asked the Australian people to approve the introduction of military conscription for overseas service. On each occasion the Australian people by a narrow margin said no. The first referendum was held on 28 October 1916, just six months after the Easter rising in Dublin.
Under grey skies, reminiscent of weather in Dublin, a crowd of more than 300 gathered outside the GPO in Martin Place at 10 am on Easter Monday to hear Irish-Australian actor Maeliosa Stafford read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, first read 100 years ago outside the GPO in Dublin. The reading was part of a day of commemoration organised by the Aisling Society of Sydney to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising.… Read the rest
On Sunday 6 March 2016 I gave an address at the Battle of Vinegar Hill Monument, Castlebrook Memorial Park, Rouse Hill on the occasion of the 212th anniversary of the convict rebellion there in 1804. In the address I reflected on the relationship between that event and the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, the centenary of which we commemorate this year.… Read the rest
Next year the centenary of the Easter Rising will be marked by many commemorative events and the publication of articles and books on numerous aspects of this significant event in the history of modern Ireland. A book recently published depicts the life of a little known participant in the rising on the British side, Captain John Bowen-Colthurst, who was responsible for the murder of innocent civilians, including the well-known newspaper editor and Dublin eccentric Francis Sheehy-Skeffington.… Read the rest
On 3 December 1831 Irishman Major-General Richard Bourke arrived in Sydney to begin a six-year term as the eighth governor of the colony of New South Wales. On the 184th anniversary of Bourke’s arrival, his contribution to the colony was marked by a reception at Government House in Sydney hosted by the current governor General David Hurley and Mrs Hurley.… Read the rest
In this centenary year of the Gallipoli campaign the main focus of commemoration in Australia and New Zealand has been the anniversary of the landing on 25 April. For the Irish, however, August rather than April is the most significant month. Although three Irish battalions took part in the landing at Cape Helles as part of the 29th Division, it was in August that the Irish arrived in strength with the 10th (Irish) Division taking part in the major offensive that was intended to break the stalemate which had set in after the original landings three and half months before.… Read the rest