In November 1914 Phillip Harris boarded a troopship bound for the battlefields of Europe, taking with him a Platen printing press and other accessories provided by several firms in Sydney and Melbourne. During the voyage, the press was used on board to print a small regimental paper. After arrival in Europe, it was put to administrative use for some time before the Rising Sun, edited by C. E. W. Bean, was set in December and January 1916. In November 1917, Harris began planning to print a magazine for the troops. Two months later the first issue of Aussie was ready for distribution.
The first issue of Aussie was printed in the field at Flêtre. Ten thousand copies were printed and the magazine sold for ten centimes. Orders were soon received from many parts of Europe, but the Platen printer was too small for the increased number of issues and paper was scarce, forcing Harris to search for a more suitable press and a greater supply of paper. A damaged press was soon found in a shell-shocked building and repaired. Paper was acquired from a nearby paper mill or salvaged from printeries near the front line. Finding suitable paper and securing reliable type remained a problem, but supplies from London and the installation of a stereotyping plant enabled Harris to print 100,000 copies for the third issue.
Except for Harris's series of biographies and selected work of Australian poets, most contributions were received from soldiers in the field. Many of these items were collected by Harris who often travelled by truck or train in search of contributions. Comprising jokes, anecdotes, poems and drawings, Aussie reflects the character (most likely censored) of the Australian soldier in World War One. With the assistance of Bill Littleton, G. B. Gye and Jack Reid, and using contributions from artists Stuart Shaw and Lance Mattison, Aussie ran for the final sixteen months of the war. Run at a small profit, the venture enabled Harris to donate £429 to the AIF Trust Fund after the last issue of Aussie was set at Marchienne-au-Pont, Belgium.
In 1920, a reprint of Aussie was produced and the magazine was revived in a 'civilian' form. The humour of the first series was maintained, but the work of many established writers and artists was employed. Contributors to the second series of Aussie included Roderic Quinn, A. G. Stephens, Fred Bloomfield, Les Robinson, Myra Morris and Will Lawson. The most frequent contributing artists included Hugh McCrae, Emile Mercier, Cecil 'Unk' White, Percy Lindsay, Esther and Betty Paterson and Mick Armstrong. A flyer is included in the reprint volume that announces that 'Aussie is now in Civvies' and gives details of the envisioned changes.
Attempting to transfer the camaraderie of the trenches to the development of an Australian nation, the 'civilian' Aussie often attacked sectarianism influenced by religion, capitalism and party politics. The issues of Aussie produced in 1920-21 frequently show the plight of the returned soldier amidst such social division, but in subsequent years, the magazine's connection to the war slowly waned. Nevertheless, Aussie maintained its position between political extremes, addressing the views of a predominantly middle-class audience. Claiming up to 67,000 in sales on its front page, the new series of Aussie ran until 1931.
