'A novel form of war memorial': the AIF Malayan Nursing Scholarship and Australia–Asia relations. Issue 2 (3rd April 2017) - Twomey, Christina
Abstract: Studies of war's aftermath often centre on commemoration, grief, mourning, rehabilitation and reintegration into families, workplaces and communities. This paper concentrates on another peacetime initiative: philanthropic efforts to consolidate connections with regional neighbours forged during the Second World War. Through a study of the AIF Malayan Nursing Scholarship, the article examines how former prisoners of war understood and sought to influence Australia–Asia relations in the post-war period. The scholarship scheme typified relationship building at a transitional moment, when post-colonial and independent states began to challenge the assumptions that had governed the interactions between white Australians and Asia for several generations.