Historical reenactment in Australia has been occurring since at least the mid-1970s.
The Australasian Living History Federation (ALHF) was formed in 2002 and acts as a focus for historical reenactment and living history societies portraying aspects of world history within Australia. The Australasian Register of Living History Organisations (ARLHO) is a website (unrelated to the ALHF) that provides links to living history groups in Australia and New Zealand.
The Dark ages, medieval, and Renaissance periods are popular eras for renactments, and the three largest events, as measured by participants, focus on these eras of history. 18th and 19th century reenactment groups are also popular, and convey Australian interest in early colonial pre-federation military regiments. The history of the Australian Light Horse regiments an the area of Australian history with wide interest, with nearly 15 groups formed to reenact this period of military history. There is also some focus on the Australian Pioneer era.
With no conventional land battles and few protracted civil disturbances since the British colonisation of Australia, most military reenactment in Australia focuses on events from other countries, including the European Feudal, medieval, and renaissance eras and American Civil War. The Viking Era is popular. The oldest surviving reenactment groups in Australia are the Ancient and Medieval Martial Arts Society, originally established in the 1970s, and the New Varangian Guard founded in early 1981. In Queensland the Knights Guild of Wessex and Mercia inc was formed in 1979-80. While focused more on living history rather than reenactment, the Society for Creative Anachronism was formed as a local group in Sydney in 1980,[1] before officially joining the U.S.-based group in late 1981.
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Several groups and individuals reenact the classical period, with an emphasis on Greece and Republican Rome. One such group is the Sydney Ancients Hoplite and Roman Society.
Many groups focus on the Viking, late Roman, and Early Byzantine eras. The New England Medieval Arts Society (NEMAS) Easter Festival focuses on this era, and 25 or so living history groups that specialise in this era attend this event. One of the larger groups, the New Varangian Guard (NVG), with chapters in a number of cities, focuses on both this period and the early medieval period. While arguably not as authentic, this is a popular area of focus for the Kingdom of Lochac, a subgroup of the Society for Creative Anachronism in Australia.
The Society for Creative Anachronism is probably the largest group to focus on this period. Other groups include Lion Rampant, Company of the Wolf, the Condotierri, the Company of the Phoenix and the Enterprise of the Black Garter.
While less numerous, there are a number of groups that focus on this period. The largest is the Pike and Musket Society (also known as the Routiers) and the New England Colonial Living History Group. There are a number of schools that teach historical fencing techniques from this era, including the Stoccata school of Defence and Prima Spada School of Fence. Das Törichte Leben has recently joined this time period.
A number of groups focus on the activity of early colonial units. Sometimes these groups are based around a particular feature, like an historical fort. Other times, they focus on the history of an actual unit from the area. There is some interest in American Civil War reenactment, perhaps as a result of Australia's role in the conflict.
Gympie, Queensland is home to the Gympie Historical Reenactment Association which recreates the days of the Bush Rangers and the gold rush.
The focus on Australian Light Horse is quite large, considering that most participants must provide their own horse. There are many Australian groups that participate in light horse reenactment. Unusual for Living history groups, the Light Horse groups participate in war memorial services. It was up until only recently that actual veterans from the campaigns still rode in memorial services, and the Light Horse reenactors often have connections with their local Returned Services League. Groups normally reenact the units that were historically active in their areas. The oldest historical reenactment group in Australia is "A Troop - Richmond/Windsor", started in 1978.[2]
A number of smaller feasts, drill practices, weekend events, and tournaments are held throughout the year. These typically focus on the period dealt with by the group. Some historical groups are involved in ceremonial duties and teaching history. The Light Horse living history group has associations with the Returned Services League and is usually involved in ANZAC day duties. There has been a reenactment of the Castle Hill convict rebellion (also known as the Battle of Vinegar Hill) and the Eureka Stockade, two historical battles of significance on Australian soil. The Australian Medieval Conference is a large biennial event focusing on arts, culture, and combat of this period.
There are several large living history events held regularly:
This event is hosted every mid-winter by the New England Colonial Living History Group in Wychwood Forest near Armidale, New England New South Wales.
This event is a large Dark Age biannual New England Medieval Arts Society (NEMAS) Easter Gathering in Armidale in northern New South Wales. This is a combination of reenactment groups from various parts of the world namely Australia and New Zealand, held every second Easter in The Armidale Pine Forest. It is attended by around 500 people, with numbers growing every year.
The Society for Creative Anachronism has held the Rowany Festival annually since 1983. About 1,200 people usually attend, the largest number of Society members at any one event in Australia. SCA Heavy Combat activities at Rowany Festival have had more than 300 participants.
The Medieval Conference is a four-day event which has been held every two years since 1983. The first conference was held in the mid-1970s in a back yard, with the second hosted at the Macquarie University playing fields (now the M2 Toll Plaza) in October 1983.[3] Participants seek to recreate the life and times of a number of specific periods of history from the ancient period to around 1650 AD. There are many activities, including lectures and workshops on historical and cultural topics, arts and crafts, feasts, games, and combat. It is an opportunity for all reenactment groups to showcase what they do and to share their knowledge.
Held at the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology in Brisbane, the Abbey Medieval Festival is a large festival held to generate interest and to educate the public. It includes mostly medieval groups covering the period from 600 to 1600 AD, and features combat, music, a large banquet, and a masquerade ball. It is the largest living history event by attendance, attracting approximately 20,000 spectators in 2006.