FOR five years to mark the centenary of World War I, the Newcastle Herald published weekly columns from military historian David Dial, recounting the efforts of the Hunter soldiers whose battlefield sacrifices helped secure victory.
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In June this year, we marked the 80th anniversary of the Japanese shelling of Newcastle, an ultimately futile attempt to disable the Australian war effort by damaging or destroying the BHP steelworks.
WWII also saw the establishment of the Williamtown RAAF base, which as the annual Hunter Defence Conference heard yesterday, is now at the centre of our air combat and and surveillance capabilities.
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In times of global stability - or when Australia is not involved in major conflict - the RAAF base, and other Hunter facilities, including Singleton Military Area, operate as more or less closed worlds. Nothing to worry about for those not directly involved.
But as the post-COVID global outlook grows less stable by the day, the Australian military - and the role the Hunter Region plays in its deployment - become increasingly important to all of us as a nation.
Peace should always be the aim.
Nobody except the most martial among us wants to go to war.
But as the invasion of Ukraine drags on, and as China and a united West led by the United States grow increasingly uneasy in each other's presence, we face the definite - although hopefully unrealised - possibility that Australia may again find itself in a large-scale war.
These are not pleasant topics, and the Herald is not beating the drums of war.
But nor can we look away and hope the problem disappears.
This is why we commissioned Herald journalist and former China resident Bradley Perrett to survey the situation at length.
Now, with the Australian Defence Force and its major "prime" and "sub-prime" contractors looking to engage with Hunter businesses in the effort to modernise and expand our military capability, we will continue to report on the developments that affect our region.
Newcastle's shortlisting as a submarine base is one example.
The Albanese government has commissioned a military-wide review of recent decisions, but no matter the fate of the AUKUS announcements, the Hunter and its people will have key roles to play in whatever our military is tasked to respond to.
Our history shows it.
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