April 2020

Commemorating Captain James Cook’s arrival, Australia should not omit his role in the suffering that followed | Paul Daley

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He arguably paved the way for the terrible experiences of generations of Indigenous people

James Cook’s critics can relish the irony that a global pandemic has diminished the planned lavish commemorations of his east coast Australian arrival 250 years ago today.

Many Indigenous people and supporters of their causes and sensibilities rightly view the lieutenant as the doorman for so many ills that followed, including the smallpox epidemic of 1789 that killed as many as seven in 10 Aboriginal people of the new colony for which Cook’s arrival paved the way.

Politicians, take note this Anzac Day: coronavirus is a pandemic. It is not a war | Paul Daley

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Stand by for speeches conflating the Australian experience at Gallipoli with the mitigation of a health and economic threat

Our politicians have been insisting this Anzac Day will be “unlike any other”.

Yes, isolation will prevent most from attending traditional services. Commemoration, as with so much else today, will be largely virtual – a matter of mind over place, imagination over reality.

We are witnessing a critical time in history. You should keep a diary | Paul Daley

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The Covid-19 crisis has impelled me to record my impressions of this altered world. The joy of the archive is that one person’s dross is another’s gold

A decade ago when researching a book about Canberra the first thing I did was trawl the archives for narrative voices.

A broken-down oar, a pink dummy, a fine kid glove: mystery beach offerings in a mysterious time | Paul Daley

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The most unlikely things have recently found a crevice in my consciousness

The old wooden oar had been in the water a long time. Its grip was almost rotted through. Little white barnacles had attached to the blade. Its rubber collar was corroded.

Coronavirus shutdown has left a hollowness in the life of this AFL fan | Paul Daley

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Trips down memory lane help ease the pain but nostalgia can only fill so much of the void

Given how a week seems like a month in this sombre and over-eventful new epoch we find ourselves in, a footy season may well be a decade. Foregoing the rituals that underscore the cadence of our lives is one of the hardest things about now. For many, including me, a big loss is Australian rules football.