Bruce Scates

Mary Booth was a woman of startling contradictions - one of Australia's first female doctors, a pioneering feminist and nationalist, she was also a staunch political conservative and a devoted empire loyalist and nationalist. She championed infant welfare, war commemoration, environmental reform, and the place of women in public life, all while navigating a society deeply shaped by gender and race. Feted as the 'Queen of Anzac' and hailed as the 'professional mother' of Australian soldiers, Booth's legacy is far-reaching - from founding the Women's Club and Anzac Fellowship of Women to reshaping ideas of national identity and womanhood. Drawing on newly uncovered personal correspondence, Mary Booth reveals the intimate world behind the public figure. It not only restores a formidable woman to the historical record but uncovers the pivotal, and often overlooked, role of women in forging Australia's national story and the enduring myth of Anzac. This is the compelling story of a forgotten feminist and the nation she helped build.

When Australian soldiers returned from the First World War they were offered the chance to settle on 'land fit for heroes'. Promotional material painted a picture of prosperous farms and contented families, appealing to returned servicepeople and their families hoping for a fresh start. Yet just 20 years after the inception of these soldier settlement schemes, fewer than half of the settlers remained on their properties. In this timely book, based on recently uncovered archives, Bruce Scates and Melanie Oppenheimer map out a deeply personal history of the soldiers' struggle to transition from Anzac to farmer and provider. At its foundation lie thousands of individual life stories shaped by imperfect repatriation policies. The Last Battle examines the environmental challenges, the difficulties presented by the physical and psychological damage many soldiers had sustained during the war, and the vital roles of women and children.

Australians have been making pilgrimages to the battlefields and cemeteries of World War Two since the 1940s, from the jungles of New Guinea and South-East Asia to the mountains of Greece and the deserts of North Africa. They travel in search of the stories of lost loved ones, to mourn the dead and to come to grips with the past. With characteristic empathy, Bruce Scates charts the history of pilgrimages to Crete, Kokoda, Sandakan and Hellfire Pass. He explores the emotional resonance that these sites have for those who served and those who remember. Based on surveys, interviews, extensive fieldwork and archival research, Anzac Journeys offers insights into the culture of loss and commemoration and the hunger for meaning so pivotal to the experience of pilgrimage. Richly illustrated with full-colour maps and photographs from the 1940s to today, Anzac Journeys makes an important and moving contribution to Australian military history.

On the 11th of November 1934 over 300,000 people gathered on the slopes of Melbourne's Domain to witness the dedication of the Shrine. It was the largest state war memorial Australia would build and it commemorated the sacrifice of no fewer than 114,000 Victorians who served in the Great War. A Place to Remember charts the Shrine's history from the first fatalities of the Gallipoli landing to the present day. With deft hand and luminous style, Bruce Scates masterfully situates the Shrine in its larger physical, cultural and historical landscape. Archival image and first person vignette mesh with vivid prose to reveal The Shrine then and now; its changing patterns of meaning through the many conflicts in which Australians have fought and died, and the enduring significance of this grand memorial in the heart of Melbourne, for generations to come. This special, limited edition is leather bound and comes in a slip-case.

On the 11th of November 1934 over 300,000 people gathered on the slopes of Melbourne's Domain to witness the dedication of the Shrine. It was the largest state war memorial Australia would build and it commemorated the sacrifice of no fewer than 114,000 Victorians who served in the Great War. A Place to Remember charts the Shrine's history from the first fatalities of the Gallipoli landing to the present day. With deft hand and luminous style, Bruce Scates masterfully situates the Shrine in its larger physical, cultural and historical landscape. Archival image and first person vignette mesh with vivid prose to reveal The Shrine then and now; its changing patterns of meaning through the many conflicts in which Australians have fought and died, and the enduring significance of this grand memorial in the heart of Melbourne, for generations to come.

Every year tens of thousands of Australians make their pilgrimages to Gallipoli, France and other killing fields of the Great War. It is a journey steeped in history. Some go in search of family memory, seeking the grave of a soldier lost a lifetime ago. For others, Anzac pilgrimage has become a rite of passage, a statement of what it means to be Australian. This book, first published in 2006, explores the memory of the Great War through the historical experience of pilgrimage. It examines the significance these 'sacred sites' have acquired in the hearts and minds of successive generations and charts the complex responses of young and old, soldier and civilian, the pilgrims of the 1920s and today's backpacker travellers. This book gives voice to history, retrieving a bitter-sweet testimony through interviews, surveys and a rich archival record. Innovative, courageous and often deeply moving, it explains why the Anzac legend still captivates Australians.

Women and the Great War focuses on women's experiences during the period of violent conflict - the Great War. It examines the role of women as peace activists as well as their role in the military and support services. Source materials, including historical documents, photographs and cartoons, together with student activities, are used to focus the reader on the way violent conflict altered women's traditional roles.