'Television program yes, history, no': Australian history according to Rewind

After working (mostly) as an academic historian for six years, in 2004 I became a historian-presenter on the recently axed ABC TV program Rewind, which presented historical stories in a magazine-style format. The program was created and received in the midst of a boom in history on television, but also at a time when history is being scrutinised and raked over in the public sphere as never before. In this paper I would like to consider the Rewind experience in both of these contexts – is it possible to make history television that satisfies the demands of both television and history? What sort of Australian history did we present on Rewind,and, in the wake of the History Wars and the re-election of the Howard government, what sort of history might we see on our television screens in future?