Capital history in the news
National Museum of Australia happenings
The National Museum of Australia has set up a Facebook page for people to tell their stories of living through this global pandemic | The National Museum of Australia (NMA) has set up a Facebook group devoted to recording and sharing experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Australians can join the group Bridging the Distance — Sharing Our COVID-19 Pandemic Experiences and take part in a national conversation around what will be a defining moment in the nation’s history.
The National Museum of Australia is journeying to a new realm on the 250th anniversary of James Cook's first landing | Endeavour Voyage: The Untold Stories of Cook and the First Australians will be launched by the NMA by the end of April online. The exhibition is designed to honour both Cook’s great voyage of scientific and geographic exploration, and the rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture that has thrived in Australia for 65,000 years.
Lessons from the past
Win the war but lose the peace | John Edwards writes about the lessons that can be learnt from Australia’s wartime Prime Minister John Curtin who understood early on that government spending to alleviate credit tightening was the right approach to combat the Depression and such spending could be deployed during peace time and when the nation was at war.
The Great War didn't stop the AFL | Canberran historian, Michael McKernan writes about the Australian Football League’s (AFL) struggle to maintain unity and the competition during the First World War due to concerns that continuing sport during the war was unpatriotic.
Other history news
Mud and khaki leave a lasting legacy for WW1 hero | Australian War Memorial (AWM) profiles Private George Giles whose First World War, mud-encrusted uniform along with his helmet, ammunition pouches and kit are one of the AWM’s most treasured collection items. Article also explains that while the AWM is closed it is still telling stories online about our servicemen and service women and the Australian experience of war.
The day I swam across Lake George | Tim the Yowie Man’s article about Julia Laybutt’s eight-kilometre swim across Lake George on 12 March 1961 — the first time a woman had successfully swum across the Lake.
Acknowledgement: The NMA’s plan to record and share Australia’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic inspired me to include the rainbow chalk drawing above by Alex Jackman on Unsplash, as rainbows have become a symbol of hope during the pandemic.
Please share. Let’s get the past and present talking.
