The Resurgence of ANZAC Day
The Fall & Resurgence of ANZAC Day in Australia
Attitudes towards ANZAC Day began to change with a new generation and changes in world events.
The companion piece to this – The Fall of ANZAC Day – looks at the decline in ANZAC day during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s in Australia.
In this article, we look at how attitudes changed and the resurgence in the celebration of ANZAC Day throughout Australia.
At the end of the 1980’s, Australian film and television lead the way in the resurgence, with films such as “Breaker Morant” and “The Light Horsemen”, and mini series such as “Gallipoli” and “Changi”, which brought the service of our soldiers in past conflicts to the notice of the Australian Public.
The public that were the tail end of the baby boomers, and Gen X growing into adulthood. The materialism of the 80’s started to fall away, and people took the time to look around at their history.
At the same time, Australian troops were deployed overseas in various peacekeeping roles, as well as in the first Gulf War. Australian civilians saw news stories of their servicemen and women and started to correlate them with their past companions in arms. They saw the spirit of ANZAC in action, and pride began to swell, as well as an appreciation of the courage it took to actually go to war.
Then, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kokoda, a group of Australians decided to walk the track, and to film their walk as a documentary. They wanted to see first hand what it was like.
They returned transformed, and their film transformed Australia. It was the first time ever that many Australian’s had ever seen the Kokoda Track. They knew it would be a hard walk, but nobody realised just how hard it actually was. Even the group walking, in clothing specially made for trekking, were astonished at the strength of mind, body and soul that must have been needed for the ANZAC’s who fought that particular battle: slogging through the jungle in army boots, fighting every step of the way for their lives and their country.
And, like those ANZAC’s, they blessed the Papua New Guinean guides and bearers (the “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels”) who, for some literally, carried them from one end to the other. They also realised that in order to make it to the end, the Aussie values of mateship and never say die would be needed.
It is true: Kokoda forges a bond that can never be broken.
And it became borne on Australians that was what the Spirit of ANZAC was about. A bond that cannot be broken. Mateship means being there for your friends when they need you. ANZAC means Mateship. It means never giving up.
And Australian’s started to be proud of this again.
At the same time, more and more people started to travel to places other than the traditional holiday destinations overseas. They visited Turkey, with the aim of seeing Gallipoli, of seeing ANZAC Cove. They learnt of the respect that the Turks still hold for both Australians and New Zealanders, and saw the memorials that honoured the soldiers of both sides in that bloody battle.
They visited the Western Front, Ypres, Belgium and Flanders. They saw the small villages that still remembered Australian soldiers in both World Wars who defended and then helped to rebuild.
They walked the trenches. They saw the graves. They learnt the history.
And in seeing these, it became human. They saw the graves of young men, most of them under the age of 21. A human face emerged: a face of people who had given up their normal lives to fight for their country. And the graves showed that, for many of these young men, they were never able to return to their normal lives.
For some, the human face became a personal one when they found the grave of a relative. The phrase “died somewhere in France” suddenly became immediate.
In Australia, attitudes had changed, and the public joined with the RSL in demanding that Vietnam Veterans be given the honours they deserved. Finally, the Government publicly thanked and acknowledged these Veterans. And their pride rose with that of the public.
Then, the children of the Gen X-ers began to ask questions about ANZAC Day. They began to talk to grandfathers and great grandfathers.
Suddenly, something started to happen with the ANZAC Day parades. Crowds grew, Australian flags sprouted like mushrooms. Attendance at the Dawn Services grew, not only in Australia, but also at Gallipoli and on the Western Front.
Then, in parades around Australia, the jeeps containing the Veterans who couldn’t march started to have an extra passenger or two. Small, proudly wearing medals and an old slouch hat; or sitting on the knee of a Veteran.
The Children of Australia were amongst the first to show pride in our ANZAC’s. They found heroes to rival those they saw at the movies. It was a matter of schoolyard pride to have an ANZAC for a relative.
Initially, there was some outcry at allowing the children to march in the parade. However, it was pointed out that it had always been traditional for children to march in place of relatives who could not do so. As the inexorable march of time claimed more and more ANZAC’s, their grandchildren and great grandchildren simply continued in this tradition.
Their participation showed that ANZAC Day wasn’t about glorifying war. It was about honouring and respecting the men and women who had gone to war when the country called.
In 2007, thousands of young Australians, almost as a Rite of Passage, make the pilgrimage to ANZAC Cove to take part in the Dawn Service. Still others choose to walk the Kokoda Track.
In ANZAC Cove, the atmosphere is hushed, almost reverent. People speak of their reasons for being there, and tears are shed as the Ode is read.
Our World War I veterans, the original ANZACS are gone now. The ranks of the World War II veterans are thinning. Their descendants, both male and female, are taking their places; proudly marching under regimental banners. Proudly wearing those medals and a slouch hat.
They march so that we can all remember.
Perhaps, if Eric Bogle was writing his song in 2007, he’d add one last verse. Perhaps it would go something like this:
The band still plays Waltzing Matilda
But now the young people answer the call
They march side by side, eyes shining with pride
And we remember Gallipoli
ANZAC Day – 25 April. Lest We Forget.
