ANZAC Day is commemorated on April 25 each year.
It is the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915 – the first major
military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First
World War. However, it is the also a day to remember all Australians and Kiwis who
served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peace-keeping operations. Ceremonies
are held in towns and cities across the nation to acknowledge the service of all
veterans and existing soldiers. In Canberra, the ceremonies are held at the
Australian War Memorial. The Commemorative Ceremony for Torres Strait Islanders is also held on ANZAC Day after the dawn service at the First Nations memorial
plaque.
ANZAC is the acronym for Australian and New
Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers of the corps were known as ANZACs. The spirit
of the ANZACs was courage and friendship (which is referred to as mateship). Australia
had only been a federal Commonwealth for 13 years before war commenced in 1914.
In 1915 the ANZACs were to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey to open
the Dardanelles for the ships of the British and allied forces. At the time,
Istanbul was called Constantinople and Turkey was the Ottoman Empire which was
an ally of Germany. They landed at Gallipoli on April 25 and defended the
peninsula for eight months. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers lost their lives.
Although the campaign failed due to the strength of the Turkish forces, it left
an important legacy of remembrance.
An annual ceremony is also held at Gallipoli in
which thousands of Australians and New Zealanders travel to Turkey for the
commemorations. The site is now known as ANZAC Cove.
ANZAC Day was first commemorated at the
Australian War Memorial in 1942. Each year there are two services: (1) the dawn
service from 5:00-6:00am to mark the time of the original landing in Gallipoli;
and (2) the national ceremony from 10:15-12:00 noon to honour the day with a marching
parade of soldiers and service-people.
The dawn service at 5:00am represents the “stand-to”
in which soldiers took up their defensive positions in the battlefields,
especially on landing at Gallipoli. Dawn services across the country are
presented by a chaplain, but not the presence of dignitaries. It is a simple,
informal service that follows a military routine of respect and honour. It used
to be only for veterans, but now the public are permitted to attend. It is
marked by a period of two-minute silence, after which a lone bugler plays The
Last Post, and concludes with Reveille (the call to wake up).
The national ceremony at the Australian War
Memorial (and in other cities) commences at 10:15am and is televised across the
nation. It is a formal ceremony that takes place in the presence of the prime
minister and governor-general (the Queen of England’s representative). This
year the prime minister, Julia Gillard, and governor-general, Quentin Bryce,
delivered speeches at the Gallipoli services. It includes hymns, prayers,
speeches, wreath-laying, a bugle playing The Last Post, a two-minute silence,
the bugle playing Reveille, and the playing of the Australian national anthem. It
includes a march by Australian veterans of wars and peace-keeping missions. After
the official march, the public can place a single red poppy beside the War
Memorial’s Roll of Honour (a wall plaque that lists the names of all Australian
soldiers killed in all wars) or on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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