2026-11-11 20:54 UTC
@ajsadauskas oh wow i never knew about the deserting conscription part!! 😲 #SidneyNolan #NedKelly
Replies (1)
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@ajsadauskas@mastodon.social 2026-11-12 08:34
@Heliograph@mastodon.au @ajsadauskas@pixelfed.social He sure did: "Between 1942 and 1944, Nolan served in the Australian army. Stationed in home territory in north-west Victoria, his main job was guarding emergency food supplies. In 1944, however, on finding out that he was to be sent to the jungles of [PNG] to fight the Japanese, he absconded." https://theconversation.com/the-sidney-nolan-mystery-did-british-government-knowingly-knight-a-wartime-deserter-92368 So Sidney Nolan was painting Ned Kelly as an outlaw on the run, while /literally/ on the run from the law himself after going AWOL from the army.