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’The ANZAC tradition - the ideals of courage, endurance and mateship that are still relevant today - was established on 25 April, 1915 when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
It was the start of a campaign that lasted eight months and resulted in some 25 000 Australian casualties, including 8 700 who were killed or died of wounds or disease.
The men who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula created a legend, adding the word ‘ANZAC’ to our vocabulary and creating the notion of the ANZAC spirit.
In 1916, the first anniversary of the landing was observed in Australia, New Zealand and England and by troops in Egypt. That year, 25 April was officially named ‘ANZAC Day’ by the Acting Prime Minister, George Pearce.
By the 1920s, ANZAC Day ceremonies were held throughout Australia. All States had designated ANZAC Day as a public holiday. In the 1940s, Second World War veterans joined parades around the country. In the ensuing decades, returned servicemen and women from the conflicts in Korea, Malaya, Indonesia, Vietnam and Iraq, veterans from allied countries and peacekeepers joined the parades.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the number of people attending the ceremonies fell as Australians questioned the relevance of ANZAC Day. However, in the 1990s there was a resurgence of interest in ANZAC Day, with attendances, particularly by young people, increasing across Australia and with many making the pilgrimage to the Gallipoli Peninsula to attend the Dawn Service.’ [1].
ANZAC Day information below includes historical information, Order of Service information, services, traditions, information from the New Zealand and Turkish viewpoints, images, music downloads and more.
We continually add to information available and are willing to consider suggested areas and sources as time permits.
ANZAC Day Service and Speeches
- ANZAC Day Speeches
Speeches for Dawn Service, school levels and community presentations. Both text and PDF versions. From the Australian Army. - Bugle Calls
Download both the Last Post and Reveille. They are in .wav format, but can be easily converted with any number of Free music converters. - Military Bugle Calls
Download both the Last Post and Reveille. They are in .MP3 format. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the listing. - Order of Service
‘A simple Order of Service for a commemorative ceremony to be held on ANZAC Day’. From the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
General Sites & Portals
- ANZAC
Of particular interest would be the section on The ANZAC Story. - ANZAC Biscuits
Yes, you can buy them, but this site will give you the information to make them yourself. - ANZAC Day 25 April
While there is a commercial component to the site, there are also extensive resources on all aspects of ANZAC. - ANZAC Day [Culture & Recreation]
In addition to the supplied information, there are embedded links to further information and sources and additional links are provided at the bottom. - ANZAC Day [DVA]
Department of Veterans’ Affairs. A wealth of information including education resources. -
ANZACday.gov.au
Information and annotated links covering all aspects of ANZAC Day. Board of Studies, New South Wales. - ANZAC Day [Qld.]
Also check their Education page for a range of resources and their Early Learning page for younger children. - ANZAC Day [Wikipedia]
Extensive information and a range of external links. - ANZAC Day - Traditions, Facts and Folklore
‘ANZAC Day - Traditions, Facts and Folklore provide[s] information for all who wish to understand more fully the history and origins of these ANZAC traditions.’ Both online and available in print. - Battle for Gallipoli : February 1915 -
January 1916
A section of the BBC’s information on World War 1. - Commemorative Activities & Resources
‘The Department of Veterans’ Affairs produces a range of resource material for schools and has established links with national and state curriculum authorities and teacher associations to ensure that the material meets required standards. Most of the education resources listed below were distributed to Australian schools Free of Charge between 2001 and 2006.’ - Dawn of the Legend
‘This exhibition tells the story of the Australians who landed at Gallipoli, and of the creation of the ANZAC legend.’ - Digger Smith
A story [in verse] by CJ Dennis who wrote The Sentimental Bloke. ‘Digger Smith studies its [World War 1] effects upon the men who fought it - the men with “ANZAC eyes”.’ Written in 1918. - EdNA
The ANZAC Day Theme Page with multiple links to related pages and information. - Gallipoli
A huge collection of information done by a Belgian. Grouped under a range of headings from travelling there to positions held and further links. - Gallipoli 1915 : The Drama of The Dardanelles
‘Gallipoli 1915 : The Drama of the Dardanelles uses material prepared for the Gallipoli 2000 Battlefield Study Tour by staff of the Imperial War Museum and the Australian War Memorial. The video, sound and photographs this site contains complement the illustrated documents on key aspects of the campaign.’ - Gallipoli Slang
‘Anzac troops quickly adopted a number of new words and expressions. Many of them reflect their daily lives in the Gallipoli trenches in such a characteristic way. What follows is just a small - and very incomplete - list of the more common ones. All of them can be found in diaries and interviews.’ -
Gallipoli : The First Day
‘An ABC 3D documentary site about the WW1 ANZAC landing at Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915. Winner of the inaugural AFI Award for Innovation in Screen Content 2009’. See the requirements for the 3D version.
Brilliant ! - Kids HQ
Developed by the Australian War Memorial. Access ‘Great Stories’, ‘Animals in War’, ‘Technology’, ‘Home Front’ and more. You need to register [as do teachers]. - Last Post, The
Information on the Last Post, a recording, links to related sites and access to a search engine for ANZAC Day. - Mapping our ANZACs
‘Mapping our ANZACs gives you three ways to commemorate the original ANZACs : locate a service person, add to the scrapbook and build a tribute. The heart of Mapping our ANZACs is a tool to browse 375 971 records of service in the Australian Army during World War I according to the person’s place of birth or enlistment.’ - The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
[Officers]
‘Recorded in these pages are the names of 492 officers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps [ANZAC] known or believed to have died as the result of their service on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey, in 1915.’ - The Great War - Gallipoli
Part of The Great War presentation from PBS in America. It has an overview, then links to further information including both Gallipoli - An Australian Perspective and Gallipoli - A Turkish Perspective. - To Sevek
‘Mark Silver tells the tragic story of his brother who died during WWII.’ Watch the short video. -
Two Up
A guide to the game played legally on ANZAC Day. More information can be found at the Two Up [Digger History] page. - Visit Gallipoli
Includes teaching about ANZAC.
Historical Information
- A Nation
Transformed
[The Impact of War on The Home Front]
Information including Discussion Topics, textual information, things to watch and more. Secondary. - ANZAC Memories
Historical notes, articles, letters and images. - Background Of The Word
‘ANZAC’
Short article tracing the background, from the Department of Veteran Affairs. - Despatches From Gallipoli
‘Charles Bean, Keith Murdoch, Phillip Schuler and Charles Smith were four Australians who went to Gallipoli as journalists during World War 1. This website aims to introduce these men and their writing, as well as to highlight their role in the development of an Australian identity.’ - ANZAC Troops at Gallipoli
‘The Australian War memorial has released rarely seen film taken at ANZAC Cove and Suvla Bay in 1915. Get the Flash Player to see this video player.’ - Gallipoli 1915
[The Drama of the Dardanelles]
An exhibition from the Imperial War Museum in the UK. Includes dioramas of the conflict. - Gallipoli Landings
Text based information from the development of the campaign on. - Jack Hazlitt - World War 1 Digger
A video clip in which a ‘World War 1 digger reflects on his work as a runner in the trenches at Gallipoli. Hopping across the trenches in full view of the Turkish snipers, the average life of a runner was 24 hours.’ -
Revealing Gallipoli
‘Five broadcasters from across the globe are uniting to tell the tragic story of Gallipoli - from all sides. First-hand accounts tell viewers what Gallipoli looked, felt and smelled like, and remarkable 3D archival images bring these scenes to life. Animated maps illustrate the forbidding terrain the soldiers faced, and illuminate the strategies behind the conflict.’ DVD from the ABC. - The ANZAC Landing at Gallipoli
[Reports by War Correspondents]
Reports, especially by Charles Bean, which told the truth about the conditions. - The Gallipoli Campaign
Covers the strategy, the whole campaign, various offensives, casualties, the dead and where the troops came from. - Veterans OnLine
A co-operative effort between the Department of Education [Victoria] and the RSL. - War & Identity : Education
‘A wealth of resources about Australia’s military history and heritage for teachers and students. These are at Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary levels. You can find what you are looking for by Themes, or Individual Wars. The list of relevant resources under the theme or war you select is colour-coded.’ - With the Camera at ANZAC
‘This album contains 41 views of ANZAC Beach and the surrounding hills and gullies. Taken in 1915, the photographs it contains capture Gallipoli through the eyes of the digger.’
New Zealand Sites
- ANZAC Day [Govt.]
The New Zealand government site covering significance, Gallipoli Guide, resources, ANZAC Day Today. - ANZAC Commemorative Site, Gallipoli
From the New Zealand Ministry for Culture & Heritage. - ANZAC Day [NZ History]
ANZACs, the campaign, first day fatalities, biographies and diaries, photographs, paintings, sounds and maps. Related links. - Gallipoli Campaign
‘Adapted from an essay by Ian McGibbon from the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History’. - Revealing Gallipoli : a
Studyguide
Downloadable document developed by the ABC in conjunction with Australian and New Zealand authorities.
The ANZAC Tradition
- ANZAC Day Tradition
The true meaning of the day for all Australians. - Not Only A Hero
‘An Illustrated Life of Simpson, the Man with the Donkey.’ - The ANZAC Day Tradition
From the Australian War Memorial.
Turkish Viewpoint
- Gallipoli -
The Frontline Experience
A Turkish film by Tolga Örnek [Roadshow DVD] using still photography, re-enactments and writings from people on both sides of the conflict. Done in English. This is a review by the ABC.
Brilliantly, factually presented ! - Gallipoli : The Turkish Story
Details of a book looking from the Turkish point of view. ‘For anyone interested in Australian history and/or of the battle from the Turkish point of the book is a goldmine of information’. Check the Publisher’s Site for other information including teacher comments, or on Google Books.
References
- 1. ANZAC Day - History. Department of Veterans' Affairs, Australia, 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2010. DVA, Commemorative Events.