Enemy Within?

These stories explore the threat to Australia from within, from the identification of a section of the population as ‘enemy aliens’ to the formation of the jingoistic Anti-German League, and the radical ideology and activities of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

Black and white photo of two storey sandstone base house with verandahs.
WW1

The bombing of Bangoola: being German in Sydney during World War I

Sometime in 1912, Paul Schreiterer (1868–1939) and his family decided to have their comfortable home, Bangoola, located in the Sydney suburb of Mosman, photographed for posterity

Red handmade flag with star and crescent moon sewn onto it.
WW1

The battle of Broken Hill

On New Year’s Day 1915, a mass shooting in which four people were killed and seven injured occurred in the mining town of Broken Hill

Printed flyer on paper with frayed top edge.
WW1

The Wobblies

The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), also known as the ‘Wobblies’, was a radical labour organisation founded in the United States in 1905

Black and white postcard depicting police station with hand written note saying Holbrook, with Germanton crossed out.
WW1

Germanton or Holbrook?

What’s in a name? The town of Germanton in the eastern Riverina district of NSW changed its name to Holbrook in 1915 ‘in order to express indignation at the conduct of Germany in the war’

Building behind picket fence with gate shut.
WW1

Registering aliens

On 10 August 1914, less than a week after Australia entered World War I, the Australian government defined a new type of resident: the enemy alien

Sharp pointed stiletto blade pointing towards camera from short muzzled revolver/walking stick handle.
WW1

Theodore Mickel’s stiletto (and revolver)

In April 1915, around eight months after Australia entered World War I, a man named Theodore Mickel arrived in Wagga Wagga by the evening mail train and took a room for the night at a local hotel

Old photo pasted onto brown card, of group of boys in front of train engine.
WW1

‘Escapade’ at Eveleigh

On 2 August 1917, workers at Sydney’s Eveleigh railway workshops and Randwick tramway depot went on strike over the introduction of a time card system

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Frayed at edges, certificate with red cross symbol in ornate diagram at top, and cursive script below.
WW1

Home Front

As the war stretched on, thousands of women at home in Australia supported the war effort by volunteering for patriotic fundraising activities

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WW1

War Service

From the shores of Gallipoli to the sprawling Western Front, the stories told here reveal the powerful war experiences of ordinary soldiers. Some were decorated for bravery in the field, while others made the ultimate sacrifice

Closeup view of memorial.
WW1

Commemoration

Hear the poignant personal stories behind battlefield grave markers in Egypt, France and Gallipoli, as well as the stories behind workplace honour rolls, one of the most common, but often hidden, forms of war memorial in Australia