FRANK MACDONALD MEMORIAL PRIZE ESSAY
How has the commemoration of Anzac Day changed over time?
Howe might you account for this?”
Kesherie Gurung
Anzac Day has been an integral part of Australian identity that has been
commemorated by reverence, honour, and criticism through the generations. Its
commemoration has been much changed from its official birth in 1916 to this year‟s
most recent Anzac Dawn Parade
April 25 marks the official anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli in 1915 by the
Australia New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). The very fact that Australia chooses
to set that fateful day aside as a public holiday is one of the reasons why the
commemoration and understanding of Anzac Day has changed Australia.
Australians are much more multicultural, inclusive and reflective than they were, and
their perspective has changed dramatically.
The day was officially named so on April 25, 1916, to commemorate those who had
given their „blood sacrifice‟ at Gallipoli. This day was honoured in Australia by
ceremonies, services and convoys of cars carrying wounded soldiers parading
through the cities. In London, Australian soldiers marched the streets in respect for
their fallen comrades.
In the remaining years of the war (1917-18), Anzac Day was an occasion for
recruiting rallies, campaigns, and parades of AIF servicemen marching in Australian
cities. Commemoration of Anzac Day was about honour and respect.
During the 1920s, it became the national day of commemoration for the 60,000
Australians who gave their lives in WW1. 1927 heralded the first public holiday on
that day; by the 1930s it had become an ingrained part of Australian culture – Anzac
was established with definite rituals: dawn vigils, memorial services, marches,
parades. It also became a day of recognition for those soldiers who returned from
war, many who were wounded in battle. Anzac Day encompassed the grief of those
who died, and the triumph of those who had survived.
After WWII, Anzac Day became an extended commemoration of those who died in
that war as well. More and more people gathered on April 25 to mark this occasion.
They crowded in the streets – in those days, the commemoration services could last
for about six hours. Such was the dedication and love of the Australian people
showed for those who had fought in war.
Australian identity flourished around Anzac Day. Although Gallipoli had been a
massacre and a military failure, from those Australians who fought there grew
legends of the Anzac spirit. The Anzac Spirit was what made one Australian; it was
what Australia stood for and what Australia meant. It was honour, mateship,
courage, loyalty, patriotism and integrity. The Anzac spirit was the Australian spirit
and each Anzac Day was about upholding that spirit. Those who had fought in war
were the spirit personified; representing all that was good and Australian.
Commemoration of Anzac Day became commemoration of the Spirit, and ultimately
commemoration of Australia‟s identity.
The next conflicts Australia was involved in – the Korean War, the IndonesiaMalaysian confrontation and the Vietnam War – extended Anzac Day
commemoration even further. However, the anti-Vietnam war sentiments changed
the nature of Anzac commemoration. People saw it as glorification of war and
refused attend the ceremonies. With the world wars over, some “legends” were
KESHERIE GURUNG
FRANK MACDONALD PRIZE ESSAY
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sitting around each Anzac Day, drinking alcohol and reminiscing. Some people
started questioning the relevance of Anzac Day – the Anzac spirit was ingrained into
their souls, so why would they need to commemorate it on Anzac Day? Now that the
war was over and the soldiers were growing old and less dignified, the Anzac spirit
lost its personified glory. Somehow, the Day seemed to lose its golden glow that the
brave young Australian soldiers had given it. People stopped commemorating and
started questioning instead.
Soon Anzac Day was harshly criticised. In 1997-8 it was called “chauvinistic” by
feminists. Anzac was a “bloke thing”, a celebration of men and their mateship.
Women were disregarded. The whole Anzac Day was a set-up for sexism. In 1999,
Rachel Buchanan wrote an article for the Good Weekend,1 saying that the Anzac
Spirit was a myth, and that Anzac Day was a “romanticising of military history”. She
wrote, “… We are expected to remember the horrors of foreign wars, but to forget
the wars of „settlement‟ on our own soil when colonisation of Aborigines allowed for
the original „forging of the nation‟….. [and] forget the thousands of Aboriginal children
who were taken from their families.” She meant that Anzac was glorified and that
there were more important issues, such as the history of indigenous Australia, that
were as much a part of Australia‟s identity as Gallipoli. “A nation,” she wrote, “like a
family, can be defined by many stories. Anzac is just one of them.” It was a view
shared by many.
When Alec Campbell, the last Gallipoli veteran, died, some suggested that with him
laid to rest, so should Anzac Day. “Gallipoli says little about our present and
hopefully even less about our future.”2 Anzac Day became less about those who
served in war and more about political correctness and old traditions dying out.
People wanted the country to move on. They wanted the Australian identity to
change. Anzac Day commemoration was seen as less important to the Australian
identity. The Anzac Day ceremonies shrunk from six-hour processions to mere
three-hour affairs that mainly family members took part in. Anzac Day was slipping
away.
However, with the death of Ted Smout, the last WW1 veteran, a huge uprising of
people surged to Dawn Services this year. In retrospect, people have done a
double-take. Now that the original soldiers have gone, Anzac Day has taken on a
new meaning. A new reverence has been assigned to the day. In reflection, people
have realised that Anzac Day is more than just a date marking a massacre, or a day
for laying wreaths for soldiers long dead. It is a strong and unfailing reminder of
Australian History, Australian identity and Australian image. Now that the last
connection with the survivors of WW1 has been broken, people have begun to truly
appreciate and identify with the Anzac Spirit. From commemoration and criticism,
Australians have become far more reflective, understanding that Anzac Day is not
about the trappings of war but the unifying of a nation in the Anzac Spirit, which is
not a legend of the past but a living reminder of what Australia truly is.
1
2
„Anzac Day: The Myth – Truth and Valour‟, Rachel Buchanan, Good Weekend, April 24 1999
„Let‟s Lay the Anzac Myth to Rest,‟ David Day, The Australian, April 25 2002
KESHERIE GURUNG
FRANK MACDONALD PRIZE ESSAY
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