Music / Fred Smith, Unforgotten: Songs of Australians at War. At AWM Theatre, August 15, 2026. Reviewed by IAN McLEAN

This epic performance was more than a concert – it was a poignant, sobering, reflective evening of music and storytelling honouring service and sacrifice and providing a comprehensive history of Australia’s involvement in war and peace keeping.

Timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the withdrawal of Australian forces from Afghanistan in 2021, and the subsequent collapse of the Afghan Republic and the return to power of the Taliban, the concert also commemorated the 25th anniversary of Australian service in Afghanistan.

AWM Director Matt Anderson provided a measured and pertinent introduction, explaining that musician, diplomat and author Fred Smith has donated his eyewitness footage and contemporary records, along with a broken guitar and the phone he has used during the evacuation of Kabul, to the National Collection and these now form part of an immersive AWM installation which tells the story of the collapse of Afghanistan through the multitude of voices of those who lived it.

When Smith, the ‘singing diplomat’, and his 5-piece backing band took to the stage it wasn’t immediately to his personal experiences but rather, a potted history, utilizing music, photographs, power point and a detailed linked script, to trace conflicts from the Boer war, the two World Wars, Korea and Vietnam through to involvement in Rwanda, Somalia, Cambodia and, later, Bougainville, the Solomon Islands, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.

He drew on the iconic ballads of Henry Lawson, Eric Bogle and John Schumann as pictorial records accompanied Scott of the Riverina, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, I was Only 19 and Khe Sanh, along with the back stories of his own compositions, Say a Prayer for Maryanne and Blue Guitar.

The first half was, by necessity, lengthy, in order to appropriately outline facts from those historical conflicts, but Smith provided fascinating detail which aptly described not only the horror of war but the power of music to promote peace.

After interval the focus turned to Smith’s many personal experiences, particularly his time in Afghanistan and the recording of his amazing album, Dust of Uruzgan. Highlights were the title track, with accompanying horrific vision, the emotive and moving story of the death of mine clearing engineers in Sapper’s Lullaby and the comic song which explains how some aspects of Dutch culture (the Australians worked side by side with soldiers from The Netherlands) offended the finer sensibilities of the Australian soldier – Niet Swaffelen op de Dixie. Amongst the many facts divulged was that some 26,000 Australians served in the Afghanistan conflict.

It was however his story telling and vision of the evacuation from Kabul which brought about the most sadness during a highly emotional evening. The images of dozens of men clinging to the wheels of departing aircraft, a moat of sewage canals, children being passed over razor wire and the obvious fear of residents as the 20-year war came to end amongst agonizing uncertainty regarding survival chances against the returning Taliban. The Australian team managed to evacuate 4100 people in those final days, most of whom now live in Australia.

I do hope this long, though totally absorbing, concert was recorded for future use. Fred Smith and his talented team have produced a unique insight into Australia’s history and the ability to retell this story via such a worthy education tool will be invaluable to our future generations.

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