Extract: The Australian War Memorial

In The Australian War Memorial: A century on from the vision, Steve Gower, the highly successful director of the Australian War Memorial from 1996 to 2012, gives a comprehensive account of the development of the Memorial from its inception just over a century ago. The book recounts the many challenges in establishing the Memorial and then in developing further its galleries and displays, the extensive collection, associated events and the overall supporting facilities. It also goes behind…

ANZAC Day titles for the historian in us all

ANZAC Day is a solemn reminder to generations young and old of the pain and loss of war. But with the number of surviving veterans declining, it's important for younger generations to keep their memory alive. With that in mind, here are five historical titles to read this ANZAC Day. Don Longo, Pens and Bayonets: Letters from the Front by soldiers of Yorke Peninsula during the Great War Pens and Bayonets gives voice to the young Australia…

An Interview with: Claire Morey, Intern

Meet our wonderful intern, Claire, who recently completed her Honours degree in history (and then plunged right into a two-week stint at Wakefield Press!). Claire talks about the importance of self-aware history writers and the impact university has on reading habits. What is the first book you ever read? One of the first novel-sized books I can remember reading is probably Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. It seems to be the most…

Freda and Me: The Birth of CAAMA, Imparja and Indigenous media in Australia

By Philip Batty In this extract from our new book Kin, a co-founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), Philip Batty, recalls its roots, and the integral role of fellow co-founder Freda Glynn. CAAMA went on to operate Australia's only Aboriginal-owned satellite television service, Imparja Television, and trained a generation of young Indigenous people who went on to form the nucleus of today’s Indigenous media culture in Australia. * * * (above, From Left: John Macumba, FReda Glynn,…

New Release: Valour and Violets

Valour and Violets, the latest release from Wakefield Press, is a meticulously researched catalogue of the stories of hundreds of South Australians who gave their country everything. Close to 35,000 South Australians enlisted for service overseas during the Great War. Around 5500 never came back. Countless more returned with physical and psychological injuries that would affect them for the rest of their lives. Valour and Violets brings together for the first time the stories of the campaigns…

New Release: The Day They Shot Edward

Wendy Scarfe's second novel, The Day They Shot Edward, tells a tale of a family in turmoil, set against the political mess of the First World War. Told from the perspective of a nine-year-old Matthew, the narration has an air of innocence, making the horrors of what is to come all the more confronting. About the book: It is 1916. The Australian community is riven over a referendum to conscript more troops for the killing fields of Europe.…

New Release: All the Kings' Men

All the Kings' Men records the story of the oldest continuously operating cricket club still in existence in South Australia – the Hindmarsh Cricket Club which now operates under the name of West Torrens - and the stories of the people who built it. This book also traces the evolution of Club cricket in the Adelaide metropolitan area from the birth of the colony until 1900. It highlights the development of cricket through significant and progressive…