“Australia’s War History” education resource launched at Sydney Anzac Memorial | Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia

Pictured (L–R): Cindy Bin Tahal (Academy Education Director), Neil Silver and Lynette Silver (historian and writer), Marley Bin Tahal (Academy video presenter), Professor Michelle Arrow (Academy Fellow and Chair, Australian Historical Association), Dr Chris Hatherly (Academy CEO), Archdeacon Andrew Nixon (DVA), Professor Kate Darian-Smith (Academy President), Professor Frank Bongiorno (Fellow and President, Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences), Rachelle Willington (ACARA HASS Curriculum Specialist), Emeritus Professor Roy MacLeod (Academy Fellow), Professor Adam Possamai (Academy Fellow), and Tristan Black (Anzac Memorial Education Manager).

The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia was proud to officially launch Australia’s War History, the latest educational resource from the Seriously Social school program, at the historic Anzac Memorial in Sydney on Monday 9 March.

This new resource has been designed to support teaching and learning about Australia’s wartime experiences and their ongoing impact on our national story. It brings together engaging, curriculum-relevant materials to help educators and students explore this important part of Australia’s history in meaningful ways.

Federal Education Minister, the Hon. Jason Clare MP extended his support for the project saying, “We live in the best country in the world because of the extraordinary sacrifices by the men and women who came before us to make Australia what it is today. The great work by The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is teaching our kids about our history in a really powerful way.”

Australia’s War History includes:

An 84-page learning module,
educational videos,
an interactive timeline tracing key moments in Australia’s wartime history.

This project has been made possible through the contributions of the Department of Veteran Affairs, Saluting Their Service grants.

Developed with input and peer review from Fellows of the Academy and leading scholars, the resource aligns with the Australian Curriculum and complements the NSW and Victorian curriculum frameworks for studies related to the First and Second World Wars. Advice and support were also provided by Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the History Teachers’ Association of Australia, Education Services Australia, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, and a national student reference group comprising high school students from across Australia. The resource opens with the Australian Wars and concludes with an overview of Australia’s military involvement since the Second World War, situating the World Wars within a longer and more complex history of conflict.

Academy National Office staff were delighted to celebrate the launch alongside historians, educators and sector leaders.

Australia’s War History is available free of charge to all Australian teachers and schools via the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia’s Seriously Social website.