Imagine you are in a large building near Parliament House in Canberra filled with irreplaceable objects. Not jewels, medals or paintings, but a collection of letters, tapes and documents of Australian life.
The collection contains letters written to and from prime ministers, and recordings of their speeches. It has historic episodes of the ABC television programs Four Corners and Countdown. Audio recordings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Your grandmother’s migration records. Your uncle’s military service records. Covert ASIO surveillance footage of anti-Vietnam war demonstrations. Letters from women living under the shadow of domestic violence, written to the Royal Commission on Human Relationships.
Anzac Day reminds us of the vital role that history plays in our identity but the federal government is failing to protect the raw material of that history.
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At 104 years of age, William ‘Bill’ Bruce is flying across Queensland today so he can make the Anzac Day services in a small outback town.
The veteran has only ever missed one service in Nebo, about 90km from Mackay, when COVID-19 kept him in Caboolture last year.
Mr Bruce is the last of the Nebo “boys” left who signed up to fight in World War II and he could very well be the oldest surviving veteran in the wider Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.
He enlisted in 1942 to protect the mainland from the Japanese; but then he became a member of the Australian Electrical Mechanical Engineers in the 2/137th Australian Brigade Workshop and was deployed to New Guinea.
For anyone under 21, just wanting to join the fight against the Axis powers in World War II wasn t enough - someone had to vouch for you.
The National Archive of Australia released a trove of references written for hopeful enlistees about 70 years ago, before their interviews to join the RAAF.
They tell a story of young men and women from big cities, small towns, and all kinds of industries keen to down tools and join the war effort.
Adelaide-based Guinea Airways Limited seemed unwilling to talk up Mr Ellens abilities in this reference (pictured, courtesy National Archives of Australia)
Beaurepaires manager felt it important to point out that Gordon Cuthbertson had the guts to fight in defence of his country in their reference to the RAAF (pictured, courtesy National Archives of Australia)
104yo WWII veteran returns home for Anzac Day cqnews.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cqnews.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.