Deep Dive into Anzac Day: An Annotated Resource List and Analysis

This annotated resource list examines ANZAC Day through various resources, including a primary source interview with a history teacher and academic articles. The analysis covers the historical context of ANZAC Day, focusing on the Gallipoli campaign and its impact on Australian and New Zeala...Read More

Running head: ANZAC DAY
Anzac day
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Primary source: interview of a teacher
After Consulting with history teacher named John Mackenzie it has been known that
Anzac day is the anniversary of the first campaign of Australia and New Zealand army during
the First World War. He stated that ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
who is soldiers well known with this acronym. This day is still one of the most by the national
locations of both New Zealand and Australia. Each year on the 25th April this day is celebrated in
order to honour the members of New Zealand and Australian Army Corps who fought at
Gallipoli in order to invade Constantinople during the time of First World War. Not only in
Australia and New Zealand but also in Cook Islands Tonga, Pitcairn islands and Niue this day is
celebrated with huge significance. It is a matter of fact that one of the popular traditions of Anzac
day is gunfire breakfast is performed after the dawn ceremonies and this and this breakfast
remind us of the breakfast taken by the soldiers before facing the battle. On this particular day
the world heroes of Australia and New Zealand join in matches through the big cities and small
town centers of Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Mackenzie further added that in the land of
New Zealand and Australia Anzac day commemoration features Dawn marches which is a
tradition which was initiated in Western Australia in the year of 1923 and now it is held at the
war memorials around both the countries New Zealand and Australia accompanied by the
thoughts of those individuals who lost their lives at war to the ceremonial sounds of The Last
Post on bugle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpIp9DXJmS8

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Justification
According to the YouTube video it can be said that Gallipoli campaign is one of the
major campaigns led by the armed forces of both New Zealand and Australia. In the year of 915,
Anzac force formed part of an allied expedition for capturing Gallipoli peninsula in order to
utilize Black Sea for the navies of the allied force. This campaign eventually failed and more
than 56000 soldiers of the allied force lost their lives that include 2800 New Zealanders and
more than 5500 Australian soldiers. It is a matter of fact that though the objective of invading
and subsequent capturing of Constantinople was not satisfied, but the actions of New Zealand
and Australian army left a powerful legacy. The creation of Anzac legend later became a
significant part of national identity for both Australia and New Zealand. It has been seen that this
event shaped the way of the citizens of Australia and New Zealand regarding their understanding
of the present and the past. It can also be said that the heroism of the soldiers in this particular
event made the sacrifices iconic, and can be credited with securing the psychological
independence of the country.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strength of the video is that it has highlighted the Gallipoli campaign and how more
than 50,000 Australian troops fought there and lost their lives. However, the weakness of the
video is that it did not mention about the historical origins and moreover, Gallipoli was one
minor part of a bigger conflict. It was not being portrayed in the video.
McDonald, M. (2017). Remembering Gallipoli: Anzac, the Great War and Australian Memory
Politics. Australian Journal of Politics & History, 63(3), 406-418.

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https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matt_Mcdonald2/publication/
319678970_Remembering_Gallipoli_Anzac_the_Great_War_and_Australian_Memory_Politics/
links/59c1ad50aca272295a09aef0/Remembering-Gallipoli-Anzac-the-Great-War-and-
Australian-Memory-Politics.pdf
Justification
This paper explores the major outline of the myth ‘Anzac’ by evaluating the year-long
politics of the memory of Anzac within the backdrop of the Great War centenary and the
Australian troops landing at Gallipoli. The paper indicates that within the Anzac context, the
Gallipoli narrative includes remembering the heroism and courage of soldiers even in the adverse
situations whereas it also points out that the Anzac myth has some significant exclusion. It
mostly excludes all the Indigenous soldiers who took part in the war and the others who were not
involved as front-liners in the war such as Australian women who were not allowed to take part
as soldiers back then, yet they served as medical staff (McDonald, 2017).
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strength of this paper is that it indicates the Anzac myth builds the foundation of the
Australian identity which is entirely against the contemporary multicultural society that identifies
itself in a much different way. It can be observed that this paper suggests includes all the possible
exclusions in the Anzac and Gallipoli myth that builds the foundation of the identity of
Australian nation, in that way it would be possible to acknowledge everyone who took part in the
war and fought for the country (McDonald, 2017). However, the weakness is that, this paper
does not deny the fact that the Gallipoli narrative gives scholars a better insight into the

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foundation of national identity and the possible situation in the politics and the course of
multiculturalism in the Australian society.
Donoghue, J., & Tranter, B. (2015). The Anzacs: military influences on Australian
identity. Journal of Sociology, 51(3), 449-463.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bruce_Tranter/publication/
270721899_The_Anzacs_Military_influences_on_Australian_Identity/links/
54e5100c0cf22703d5c03348.pdf
Justification
This paper brings the reference to the traditions that are related with the soldiers of
Australia and New Zealand which constitutes the most significant element of the whole
Australian narrative. Even though the soldiers did not really become official Anzacs until they
had joint the Western front force, the Anzacs brings back the traumatic memory of the Gallipoli
campaign (Donoghue & Tranter, 2015). In the present day, the Anzac memory is celebrated
through the commemorations of annual Anzac day which is considered to be having a great
influence on the basic foundation of the Australian identity. This study views the Anzac tradition
as a flexible one considering the requirements of elite class of Australia and refers that the
political, art and cultural leaders have always exploited the sheer memory and power of this day
for continuously influencing the national sentiment (Donoghue & Tranter, 2015).
Strengths and Weaknesses
This paper indicates that the meaning and memory of the Anzac have changed with the
change in the national interest. In the present time the Anzacs are considered as dutiful and brave

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soldiers who fought for the independent Australia whereas post the Great War they were
acclaimed as the Bushmen who were fighting for the King as most of the Australian population
identified themselves as British back then (Donoghue & Tranter, 2015). Therefore this paper
concludes that the strong association between the Gallipoli trauma and the national memory
along with the strong relation between the Anzacs and the foundation of Australian nation has
always made this entire narrative more important throughout years.
Sumartojo, S. (2015). On atmosphere and darkness at Australia’s Anzac Day dawn
service. Visual Communication, 14(3), 267-288.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/40726444/Sumartojo_2015_-
_Anzac_Day_and_darkness.pdf?
AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1533022805&Signature=W9J
%2FGO8%2BzeWba0AfE2p7dcclZAg%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B
%20filename%3DOn_atmosphere_and_darkness_at_Australia.pdf
Justification
The resource highlights the historical foundation of the Australian national day that is
popularly known as the Anzacs Day. The entire rhythms of the day are inclusive of melodious
music, readings of texts that are encrypted with silence. In this context, the resources have taken
the effort to act as darkness for framing the participants of the national Anzac day. In this article
the author has deliberately addressed a sensory experience of the Anzac Day to portray the
pervasive experience of the participated, mostly it emphasizes the feeling of loss and grief
embeds within the commemorative day. The author in this resource clarifies the fact eventually
that darkness is an historical concept that has been associated with danger, a cover to safeguard

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different threats and mishaps. However, in the later part of the article the author has explained
that dawn military service is long founded arm of Anzac commemorate that is being celebrated
on 25th April. It is evident from the resource that the most overwhelming exploration of Anzac is
due to the patriotic Australian history coherent with the national narratives. In this context, the
tension exists in the part of the wider national area in where the dawn service takes place. There
are many Australians who often find it difficult to accept commemorated Anzac day celebrated
on 25th April. On the contrary to this, it is the centenary of Gallipoli which the Australians mark
as the crucial memory for their national recognition.
Strengths and Weaknesses
It has been found that the case of Dawn service is seen to be authorized by the tradition,
despite the fact that it started as a spontaneous urge of grief during the event of war.
Sumartojo(2015) stated that there are many reasons for the starting that are associated to the
military tradition of Anzac troops. It shows that there several believes that explains the
origination of the arguments related to the Anzac Day, which can be considered as the strength
of the book. It is the contemporary services that are usually managed by the volunteers. It is
mainly the symbolism of the environment where these ceremonies take place in a condition to
experience the grief. The author here tries to explore the figurative analysis of the absent misery
of the military and memorial locations that turns in to holy day and holy ground of Australians.