October 2016

Beersheba: we must keep an eye on how the story is told and interpreted | Paul Daley

Submitted by Paul Daley on

As the centenary of the last ‘great’ successful cavalry charge approaches, the battle is set to be wrongly evoked as testimony to the ‘special’ Israel/Australia relationship

It’s 99 years today since soldiers of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade took part in what is generally regarded as the last “great” successful cavalry charge.

So in a year we can expect the Australian – and Israeli – governments to go overboard on commemorating an event that has never received the considered national attention it warrants.

Why Australia Day and Anzac Day helped create a national 'cult of forgetfulness' | Paul Daley

Submitted by Paul Daley on

It’s beyond time Australia cast off these sturdy cultural crutches that both, somehow, define national birth

Australia Day and Anzac Day are months away.

But I’m getting in early. It’s beyond time Australia cast off these sturdy cultural crutches that both, somehow, define national birth, so we can discover who and what we truly are.