The Fall of ANZAC Day
The Fall & Resurgence of ANZAC Day in Australia
During the 60's, 70's and early 80's, ANZAC Day in Australia was regarded as a day of jingoism that had no place in the modern Australia
Eric Bogle’s song “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” (1972) has the line “And the young people ask what are they Marching For”.
Alan Seymour’s play “The One Day of the Year” (first performed in 1961) used this day as the catalyst for the conflict between its protagonists.
Both are talking about the same day: a day that has, in the last ten years, come to the forefront of Australian national pride.
That day is 25 April: ANZAC Day.
This article and its companion piece, “The Resurgence of ANZAC Day” is not about the beginnings of ANZAC Day, or even how it’s celebrated. Instead, it’s a look at some of the reasons why it has declined in popularity, then doing a metamorphosis into what it is in 2007. The change from being almost a cultural cringe, to it’s resurgence in symbolism of the Australian values of mateship, loyalty and a never say die attitude.
During the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s, ANZAC day was generally not commemorated for what it truly means by the Baby Boomer generation who comprised the Young and middle-aged adult population. They regarded it as simply another public holiday, but one where the pubs didn’t open until 1pm, and where, at the local RSL (Returned Services League) the game “two-up” was made legal for that one day. It was, to them, a day where old men talked about past glory.
It was during these decades that both song and play mentioned at the beginning of this article were written and performed extensively. Memories of the Vietnam War were fresh, open wounds; striking a raw chord in the hearts and minds of the population.
The Vietnam War: a war that wasn’t supported by either the population or the soldiers who fought. Those same soldiers were vilified by the population and, in the aftermath of the war, ignored by the government who sent them. They didn’t want to know about ANZAC day either: they felt excluded from it.
At the same time, Australia was in of boom, and most people’s primary concern was to achieve the better things in life. They had no time, as it seemed, to celebrate the wasteful horror of war. They were busy – too caught up with their own lives.
Parades were attended, cheers were raised, but nobody really seemed to care about the spirit of ANZAC. It seemed rifle with jingoism, and the bravery of troops at Gallipoli, the Western Front, Kokoda, Tobrook and Nui Dat were ignored and relegated to primary school social studies lessons.
Then, something began to change.
