Access support from RSL NSW during the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. Find out more.
RSL NSW membership now fee free and available online. Read more
You're logged in to the RSL NSW Member Portal
Australia’s Military History and Heritage
Australia’s military history provides an insight into the harrowing experiences of war so that we may all better appreciate the significance of the sacrifices made for the peace that we now enjoy.
They shall grow not old
as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun,
and in the morning,
We will remember them
Lest We Forget
Australia's Military History FAQs
Australia has a rich and storied military history. Here are answers to some of the most frequently...
ANZAC Day
The date of the landing at ANZAC Cove, 25 April, was chosen to be the day that would become our...
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day marks the end of fighting in World War I and the red poppy has become a symbol of...
The Colonial Period
Learn more about The Colonial Period and fighting involving the British Regiments and the...
The Waikato War
Learn more about Australia's involvement in New Zealand during 1863-1864.
The War in Sudan-Egypt
Australians, including many from Sydney and New South Wales, supported the British in the Sudan.
The Boer War
Learn more about Australia's involvement in The Boer War. Australia’s contribution was...
The Boxer Rebellion
Learn more about The Boxer Rebellion. Australian colonial ships were sent to China to join forces...
The First World War
The Great War. The War to end all Wars.
The Second World War
The First World War had been called the ‘war to end all wars’ but by the 1930s tension...
British Commonwealth Occupation Force
Participation in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) marked the first time that...
The Korean War
The crisis in Korea originated in the closing phases of the Second World War, when control of the...
The Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was declared on 18 June 1948 after three estate managers were murdered in...
The Indonesian Confrontation
Between 1962 and 1966 Indonesia and Malaysia fought a small, undeclared war which came to involve...
The Vietnam War
Australian support for South Vietnam in the early 1960s was in keeping with the policies of other...
The Gulf War
Australian forces were deployed in the Gulf War under the auspices of the UN. The RAN provided...
Peacekeeping Operations
Australia has had peacekeepers in the field with the United Nations continuously for over 50 years.
East Timor
Australia continued to support the UN peacekeeping operation until December 2012 when the last...
The War on Terror and Afghanistan
On 11 September 2001, terrorists used hijacked civilian airliners to destroy the World Trade Centre...
The War in Iraq
Although divided on the morality of the war, all Australians wished departing troops a safe return...