Thursday 6 November 2025, 7pm
AAIA Hostel, Promachou 2, 11742 Makriyanni
This presentation examines Australian propaganda photography during the Second World War through the work of official war photographers Damien Parer and George Silk. Focusing on selected imagery from the campaigns in Greece and the Pacific theatre, it explores how their photographs contributed to the evolving visual narrative of the Australian soldier, one shaped by values of mateship, courage, and resilience. Building on the legacy of First World War imagery, Parer and Silk’s work reflects a shift influenced by interwar modernity and developments in documentary realism.
Through comparative analysis, the presentation highlights how national identity, propaganda imperatives, and personal experience intersected in their visual storytelling. It argues that their work helped define a distinctive Australian character in wartime imagery, tenacious, loyal, and steadfast, while also documenting the challenges of combat and the forging of new alliances in the Mediterranean and the Pacific warzones.
Dr Anna Efstathiadou, Institute of Modern Languages, The University of Queensland
Anna Efstathiadou is a Modern Greek language tutor and researcher at the
University of Queensland (UQ). Her academic work explores comparative
Second World War propaganda imagery from Australia, Britain, and Greece,
with a focus on representations of nationhood and identity. In recent years,
Anna has expanded her research interests to include student engagement
through student-staff partnerships within learning communities in the UQ
Medical School. Passionate about photography, she also curates exhibitions
in collaboration with the Greek Photographic Society in Athens and actively
contributes to the Greek cultural community of St George in Brisbane,
promoting Greek culture and heritage.
