 |
What is Anzac Day?
Anzac Day - 25 April - is
probably Australia's most
important national occasion.
It marks the anniversary
of the first major military
action fought by Australian
and New Zealand forces during
the First World War. ANZAC
stands for Australian and New
Zealand Army Corps.The soldiers
in those forces quickly became
known as Anzacs, and the pride
they soon took in that name
endures to this day.
|
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.
|
)
