The Australians at War Film Archive 

Last year, on Remembrance Day, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, the Hon Danna Vale MP announced the commissioning of the Australians At War Film Archive. Inspired by the award winning television series, Australians At War, the Archive is intended to be a repository of veterans’ memories and experiences; a resource for all Australians both now and in the future. I have attached a copy of the Minister’s Media Release for your information.

Mullion Creek Productions Pty Ltd, a film and television production company and co-producers of the TV series, has been commissioned by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to undertake the establishment of the Archive and to gather the bulk of the material. Over the next two years, Mullion Creek staff will speak with thousands of veterans in every state and territory of Australia and film thousand hours of interviews. Four hundred veterans of WWII have already been interviewed in Sydney and Melbourne. 

Each interview is conducted in two sessions over the course of one day. It is expected that we will interview each veteran chosen for the Archive for a total of around six hours, an indication of the depth and worth of these interviews. The interview teams, comprising two people, conduct the interviews in the veteran’s home, using a small camera to minimise disturbance. Visual materials, such as photographs belonging to the veteran and pertaining to his or her service, will also be filmed. 

The veteran’s interview will then be processed, logged and deposited in the Archive under the copyright of the Commonwealth of Australia. No visual editing of the material takes place. It is stored as it was filmed. In addition, each interview will be fully transcribed into text and made available on a specially designed website on the internet, free of charge to all Australians. 

We are about to commence our second block of interviews and need your help to locate veterans of all the wars, conflicts, peacekeeping missions and military projects in which Australia has been involved, from WWII onwards, who may be members of, or known to, your association. It is important to note here that the Archive is interested in recording all wartime experiences, both home front and battlefield. 

What we are asking you to do is to provide the Archive with the contact details of those veterans whom you feel may wish to be considered for interview. You can do so by either calling us toll free on 1800 636 111 or by mailing your suggestions to the P0 Box detailed below. The Archive staff will then make contact with each veteran and discuss with them the possibility of their experiences being recorded. It may not be possible to interview all those veterans who express an interest in participating; however we would appreciate the opportunity to talk to many veterans as part of our research to ensure that the widest possible range of service experiences is included. 

The Australians At War Film Archive is an enormous undertaking designed to capture and treasure veteran memories before they are lost forever. We are grateful to you for any assistance you can render in achieving this vital. Australian resource. 

If you have any questions or require clarification of any matters, please do not hesitate to contact me I look forward to your response. 

Yours sincerely, 

Michael Caulfield
Project Director