Australian Quakers mark war centenary
A recent exhibition highlighted Australian Quaker witness during world war one
Australian dissent and opposition to the first world war was highlighted at an exhibition in Sydney.
‘World War 1: Quaker witness to peace and non-violence’ ran from 6 to 14 September at the Devonshire Street Meeting House, as part of New South Wales (NSW) History Week.
The exhibition was opened by Australian historian, professor Jill Roe, who described Quakers as having been vital to the peace tradition. ‘Their advocacy of peace and nonviolence, and their work for post-war relief, is as relevant today as it was then, and rightfully highlighted in this valuable contribution to History Week 2014,’ she added.
The exhibition told the story of Quakers’ commitment to peacemaking, their opposition to militarism, and their active role in the provision of relief to the victims of war in Europe during and after the first world war. It also drew attention to the terrible consequences of war and illustrated Quakers’ continuing commitment to peacemaking.
The exhibition will later travel within NSW and to other states and territories across Australia. It is the culmination of many months’ work, and was ‘inspired by the initiatives of Friends, and others, in the UK’, Jenny Madeline of NSW Regional Meeting told the Friend.
‘Contributions have been made by Quakers throughout Australia and we want to acknowledge the valuable assistance, in the form of images, received from Friends House Library, the Northern Friends Peace Board, the Quaker Arts Network, Pax Christi UK, Swarthmore College in the US and elsewhere,’ she added.
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