Why is this day so special to
Australians?
When
war broke out in 1914 Australia had
been a federal commonwealth for only
fourteen years. The new national
government was eager to establish
its reputation among the nations of
the world. In 1915 Australian and
New Zealand soldiers formed part of
the allied expedition that set out
to capture the Gallipoli peninsula
to open the way to the Black Sea for
the allied navies. The plan was to
capture Constantinople (now
Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman
Empire and an ally of Germany. They
landed at Gallipoli on 25 April,
meeting fierce resistance from the
Turkish defenders. What had been
planned as a bold stroke to knock
Turkey out of the war quickly became
a stalemate, and the campaign
dragged on for eight months. At the
end of 1915 the allied forces were
evacuated after both sides had
suffered heavy casualties and
endured great hardships. Over 8,000
Australian soldiers were killed.
News of the landing at Gallipoli
made a profound impact on
Australians at home and 25 April
quickly became the day on which
Australians remembered the sacrifice
of those who had died in war.
The idea that some sort of
"blood sacrifice" was a necessary
rite of passage or initiation
ceremony in the birth of a nation
was common in the late Victorian and
Edwardian period. In attempting the
daunting task of storming the
Gallipoli peninsula the Anzacs
created an event which, it was felt,
would help to shape the new
Australia.
Early commemorations
The date, 25 April, was
officially named Anzac Day in 1916;
in that year it was marked by a wide
variety of ceremonies and services
in Australia, a march through
London, and a sports day in the
Australian camp in Egypt. In London,
over 2,000 Australian and New
Zealand troops marched through the
streets of the city. A London
newspaper headline dubbed them "The
knights of Gallipoli". Marches were
held all over Australia in 1916.
Wounded soldiers from Gallipoli
attended the Sydney march in convoys
of cars, attended by nurses. For the
remaining years of the war, Anzac
Day was used as an occasion for
patriotic rallies and recruiting
campaigns, and parades of serving
members of the AIF were held in most
cities.
During the 1920s,
Anzac Day became established as a
national day of commemoration for
the 60,000 Australians who died
during the war. The first year in
which all the States observed some
form of public holiday together on
Anzac Day was 1927. By the mid-1930s
all the rituals we today associate
with the day - dawn vigils, marches,
memorial services, reunions, sly
two-up games - were firmly
established as part of Anzac Day
culture.
With the coming
of the Second World War, Anzac Day
became a day on which to commemorate
the lives of Australians lost in
that war as well, and in subsequent
years the meaning of the day has
been further broadened to include
Australians killed in all the
military operations in which
Australia has been involved.
Anzac Day was
first commemorated at the Australian
War Memorial in 1942, but due to
government orders preventing large
public gatherings in case of
Japanese air attack, it was a small
affair and was neither a march nor a
memorial service. Anzac Day has been
annually commemorated at the
Australian War Memorial ever since.
What does it mean
today?
Australians
recognise 25 April as an occasion of
national commemoration.
Commemorative services are held at
dawn, the time of the original
landing, across the nation. Later in
the day ex-servicemen and women meet
and join in marches through the
major cities and many smaller
centres. Commemorative ceremonies
are held at war memorials around the
country. It is a day when
Australians reflect on the many
different meanings of war.
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Those
heroes that shed their blood
And lost their lives...
You are now living in the soil of a
friendly country,
Ttherefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the
Johnnies
And the Mehmets to us where they lie
side by side
Here in this country of ours...
You, the mothers,
Who sent their sons from faraway
countries
Wipe away your tears;
Your sons are now lying in our bosom
And are in peace.
After having lost their lives on
this land
They have become our sons as well.ATATURK
1934
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ANZAC TRAVELLERS
