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Historical reenactment in Australia


Historical re-enactment in Australia has been occurring since at least the mid-1970s. Three main umbrella groups, the Queensland Living History Federation (QLHF) and the Australasian Living History Federation (ALHF)and the Australian Re-enactors Association (ARA), formed to represent the interests of re-enactment and living history groups around Australia.

The Australasian Living History Federation was formed in 2002 and acts as a focus for historical re-enactment and living history societies portraying aspects of world history within Australia (except Queensland).

The Queensland Living History Federation (QLHF) formed in 1997 to represent the interests of re-enactors and living historians in Queensland. Member groups of the QLHF range from Ancient Rome to the Vietnam War era. Membership of QLHF is based on high standards of safety, authenticity, research and performance.

The Australian Re-enactors Association (ARA) formed in 2012 to represent members' focus on different historical periods and locations from the Classical Ancient world through to Australians in the Second World War. Aside from organising public liability insurance, the ARA also acts to represent members' interests in areas such as legislation that affects re-enactment activities. The ARA offers members, event organisers and the public, advice and guidance on such things as performance and display safety and the reasonable presentation of historical accuracy in recreational re-enactment activities.

The Australasian Register of Living History Organisations (ARLHO) is a website that provides links to living history groups in Australia and New Zealand.

The Dark Ages, medieval, and Renaissance periods are popular eras for re-enactments, and the three largest events, as measured by participants, focus on these eras of history. 18th and 19th century re-enactment groups are also popular, and convey Australian interest in early colonial pre-federation military regiments. The history of the Australian Light Horse regiments are the area of Australian history with wide interest, with nearly 15 groups, the first starting in 1978 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 re-enactment in Australia focuses on events from other countries (mostly European), including the European Feudal, medieval, and renaissance eras, and American Civil War. The Viking Era is popular. The oldest surviving re-enactment groups in Australia are the Ancient and Medieval Martial Arts Society, originally established in the early 1970s and the New Varangian Guard founded in early 1981. Other early groups that no longer exist were the Melbourne Vikings, founded in the early 1970s, the Medieval Society of Tasmania, founded in the late 70s and the Knights Guild of Wessex and Mercia Inc which was formed in Queensland in 1979–80. While focused more on living history rather than re-enactment, the Society for Creative Anachronism was formed as a local group in Sydney in 1980, before officially joining the US-based group in late 1981.


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