Rachel Perkins, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and eminent historian Henry Reynolds have discussed whether Australia’s frontier conflicts can be considered warfare and how the story should be represented at the Australian War Memorial (AWM).
The wide-ranging debate on the AWM’s Through Their Eyes podcast was a sneak peak of some of the topics that will be discussed at the AWM’s upcoming Imperialism and Resistance conference.
Chair of the AWM Council Kim Beazley said: “Frontier Wars have been a standard part of the teaching of Australian history for some time. The time has come for us here at the Australian War Memorial to give what is already in the galleries a stronger interpretive presentation of our beginnings, and this conference will provide us with important guidance.”
The Honourable Tony Abbott said: “Let us learn as much as we can and continue to research the frontier conflict and let us, as it were, popularise it in all sorts of ways. My own view is that this work would be better done at the Australian National Museum rather than at the Australian War Memorial.”
Professor Henry Reynolds, who has also long called for the recognition of Frontier Wars at AWM, said it would be a “good idea” to establish a “properly funded” separate museum of frontier conflict, alongside monuments on Country.
“Now there are so many organisations, land councils for instance, all over Australia, they could decide whether they wanted to commemorate the wars in their country with or without the European pioneers part of it, in whatever way they wanted and be given some funding so that you would get war memorials separately in every mob’s country, as well as a big national institution.”
Indigenous filmmaker Rachel Perkins has called for the AWM to tell the full story of Australia’s Frontier Wars, arguing the conflicts were warfare because they were fought over Indigenous people’s “lives, livelihood, culture, land and sovereignty”.
The Australian War Memorial is holding a two-day conference bringing together authors, historians and curators to reflect on Frontier Wars and Australia’s earliest military commitments including Sudan, China and the South African (Boer) War.
Imperialism and Resistance: Australia’s First Wars will be held 17 and 18 September with tickets available on the AWM website.
AWM Director Matt Anderson said: “The question of how the Australian War Memorial should represent the Frontier Wars has long been a topic of debate, since it first appeared in galleries in the early 1980s.”
“It will be too much for some and not enough for others.
“The upcoming conference will provide a national platform to canvas the views of a broad cross section of experts, providing the intellectual rigour and the latest academic research to inform what, and how the Pre-1914 Galleries will interpret Australia’s earliest wars, both at home and overseas.
“The Council of the Australian War Memorial has committed us to a broader and deeper depiction in our galleries of conflict during settlement, and we are in the process of standing up the teams that will design and deliver them. They are due to open to the public alongside a reimagined Discovery Learning Zone in 2028.”
FOR EDITORS
Listen to former prime minister Tony Abbott, filmmaker Rachel Perkins and distinguished historian Henry Reynolds debate Australian history, imperialism and national identity on the Australian War Memorial’s podcast https://wm.awm.gov.au/listen
Tickets available here: https://conlog.eventsair.com/awm-2026/awm26/Site/Register
IMAGES and VIDEO HANDOUT:
https://www.playbook.com/s/awmimages/hsnGzcJWymnfUJkDHyYJnbTX
PODCAST
AWM: Through Their Eyes
Discover the human truths hidden inside every conflict
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, filmmaker Rachel Perkins and distinguished historian Henry Reynolds debate Australian history, imperialism and national identity on the Australian War Memorial’s podcast here: https://www.awm.gov.au/learn/podcasts
Imperialism and Resistance: Australia’s First Wars conference.
From the colonial frontiers of Australia to the South African veldt, Australia’s first wars were fought across the expanses of the British Empire. Imperialism and Resistance: Australia’s First Wars is a two-day conference that brings together authors, historians, and curators to reflect on the Australian Frontier Wars and Australia’s earliest overseas military commitments to the British Empire.
Speakers will explore Australia’s nineteenth-century military history, with presentations on the Frontier Wars, the mid-century New Zealand Wars, and colonial deployments to Sudan, China, and the South African (Boer) War.
https://www.awm.gov.au/imperialism-and-resistance
https://conlog-awm-2026.eventsairsite.com/
