Chronicling The Peacekeepers: Problems of Writing the Official History of Australian Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Post-Cold War Operations

Since 1947 Australian peacekeepers have taken part in more than fifty operations in more than two dozen theatres of conflict. In February 2004 the Australian Government authorised the Australian War Memorial to research and write a four-volume Official History of Australian Peacekeeping and Post-Cold War Operations. This will be Australia’s fifth Official History series. Earlier series described Australia’s role in the World Wars, the Korean War, and south-east Asia conflicts. The article discusses the challenges faced by the historians, such as the different expectations placed on official histories since C.E.W. Bean started his first history in 1919, and the problems posed by the use of electronic records.