- Title
- Valore Australis: constructions of Australian military heroism from Sudan to Vietnam, 1885-1975
- Creator
- Abraham, Bryce Scott
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2020
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- 'Hero' has become one of the most popular labels in Australian society. Once the domain of an elite few, the title of 'hero' is now frequently applied to athletes, community volunteers, fictional characters, and media personalities. Even in the martial sphere, a traditional haven of the 'heroic', the label has been appropriated to incorporate all current and former service personnel irrespective of service history and deployment status. In doing so, modern society fails to give a full appreciation as to what was considered 'heroic' in days and wars past; such flagrant usage does not recognise 'heroism' as an elusive social construct, one that is often difficult to quantify. Yet contemporary military forces have attempted to do just that, to define and institutionalise heroism through the bestowal of medals and decorations. For a state that venerates its martial heritage as the foundation of nationhood, though, the notion of military heroism in Australia has received limited scholarly attention. Through the lens of honours and awards—most notably that of the Victoria Cross—this thesis navigates the shifting constructions of heroism throughout Australia’s war history from the colonial period to the end of the Vietnam War. Drawing upon official records, award recommendation files, newspaper and press accounts, private letters, and personal records, it blends actions on the battlefield with social perceptions and representations of heroism at home to explore the military, political and social dimensions of martial heroism. In doing so, it argues that these three dimensions have variously acted as stimuli to influence the forms of martial heroism throughout the last century and a half: the socially romanticised heroism of the Victorian age became more tactical and aggressive amid the warfare of the World Wars while, after 1945 as the civilian soldier morphed into the contemporary regular, 'heroism' become increasingly professionalised. This thesis thus offers a deeper, more rounded appreciation of the Australian military experience and the place of martial heroism in the national consciousness.
- Subject
- heroism; war and society; British Empire; Victoria Cross; honours and awards
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1411377
- Identifier
- uon:36329
- Rights
- Copyright 2020 Bryce Scott Abraham
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 4 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 136 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |