Australian military history overview

These short chapters cover Australia's involvement in war, from the time of the first settlement at Sydney Cove in the 18th century to our peacekeeping roles under United Nations auspices and the First and Second Gulf Wars. This material has been prepared by the Memorial's Military History Section.

• Indigenous service in Australia's armed forces
• Colonial period, 1788–1901
• Sudan, March–June 1885
• South African War (Boer War), 1899–1902
• China (Boxer Rebellion), 1900–01
• First World War, 1914–18
• Second World War, 1939–45
• Occupation of Japan, 1946–51
• Korean War, 1950–53
• Malayan Emergency, 1950–60
• Indonesian Confrontation, 1963–66
• Vietnam War, 1962–75
• Iraq: the First Gulf War, 1990–91
• Afghanistan, 2001–present
• Iraq: the Second Gulf War, 2003–09
• Peacekeeping, 1947–present

Disclaimer

This section of our website is intended to provide a readily available summary of useful knowledge of Australian military history.

While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the following information, it is possible that some content will contain inaccuracies or errors. Even Memorial founder Charles Bean had to grapple with this inevitable problem, and found it necessary to put a disclaimer on his war diaries.

You are invited to contact our web manager if you are aware of any inaccuracies, or simply wish to make a comment.