How war came home: Reflections on the digitisation of Australia’s repatriation files

Bruce Scates*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This article explores the digitisation of repatriation files, Australia’s largest single World War I archive. It charts this collection’s difficult transition from virtual obscurity to acclaim, considers the way these files extend understandings of war, and places this process within the shifting politics of the Anzac Centenary. The public disclosure of such intimate and sensitive material raised serious ethical questions, and this article scopes the moral choices faced by archivists and historians. It concludes that the dissemination of these records is a necessary historical corrective, subverting simplistic and romanticised Anzac narratives.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)190-209
    Number of pages20
    JournalHistory Australia
    Volume16
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2019

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