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https://theconversation.com/recognising-the-warriors-henry-reynolds-on-the-war-memorials-surprising-change-of-direction-191861>
"It was a sudden and unexpected announcement. Late last week, the chairman of
the Australian War Memorial, Brendan Nelson, declared the governing council had
decided to develop a
much broader, a much deeper depiction and presentation of the violence
committed against Indigenous people, initially by British, then by
pastoralists, then by police, and then by Aboriginal militia.
The statement was made in the presence of the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
Matt Keogh who has administrative responsibility for the memorial. Keogh
observed that the current $550 million expansion of the institution would allow
for a greater recognition of the frontier wars. He added
the recognition and reflection on frontier conflict is a responsibility for
all our cultural institutions, not just here at the war memorial.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney remarked that her government
was committed to a truth telling process about Australian colonial history “and
a failure to see that reflected in this key institution would be jarringly out
of step with this new phase of national reckoning”.
The memorial’s resistance to acknowledging the frontier wars that occurred here
over 140 years had seemed implacable.
Reference was always made to official regulations confining its attention to
Australian-raised forces fighting overseas. Suggestions for minor amendments to
the relevant act were brushed aside, leaving the inescapable impression that
the memorial’s board was simply not interested in the untidy, irregular warfare
witnessed all over the continent.
The constant riposte to criticism was that while frontier conflict was real
enough it should be commemorated in the National Museum."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
