Lest We Forget - Hyde Park Anzac Memorial
Danielle Pettit
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney
This chapter will investigate the correlation between the commemorations of Anzac Day in Australia and seeks to determine the extent to which the national day contributes to the overall Australian identity. The Hyde Park Anzac Memorial will be used throughout this paper to demonstrate the ways in which tradition and modernity influence an individual’s notion of the Australian identity and the role of Anzac Day in the development and nurturing of identity. Ultimately, this paper will argue the role Anzac Day plays in defining Australia’s identity is relative to the discourse employed in fabricating it.
INTRODUCTION
Whilst the annual presence of Anzac Day in Australian culture is evident, the degree to which its commemoration contributes to the formation of Australia’s national identity is a further intricate issue that has consequently been the topic of considerable scholarly debate. Crabb denotes that ‘the pursuit of national identity requires an emphasis on the features of an Australian “narrative” (1985, p.19). However, in the present time in which we live, a diverse range of nationalities, experiences and cultures, shapes Australian society thus complicating the concept of one common identity.
Implementing the Hyde Park Anzac Memorial as a case study, this chapter will endeavor to demonstrate the ways in which traditional and modern notions of discourse influence ones understanding of the role of Anzac Day in the construction of the Australian identity. Whilst the terms tradition and modernity have various meanings and interpretations, for the purpose of clarification, I will refer to them ba...
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...iconography to become a fully-fledged commodity (author). National identity involves many mythic structures. The most prevalent structure that ANZAC Day offers Australians is a secure point of identification through the stereotype of the ‘digger’. This national character only offers a single and very specific, stereotyped version of history, one that is dominated by white masculinity. The process of legitimising that particular ‘brand’ of identity is a combination of ‘buying into’ elements of mythic structures and ‘selling’ parts of yourself. People become more willing to give up parts of themselves so they can actively and visibly participate in the dominant discourse.
CONCLUSION
In the present in which we live, the commemoration of Anzac Day at he Hyde Park Memorial is formed on the backbone of modernity, however cannot be divorced from its traditional origins.
Hypothesis: The Australian public made a significant contribution to the war efforts from 1939 to 1945, through sacrifices on a personal and national level. The determination of the Australian people in bringing their loved ones home safely, created strong relationships between the community, which in many cases, are still prevalent in Australian society to this day.
The 2014 Walkley Award winning documentary, "Cronulla Riots: the day that shocked the nation" reveals to us a whole new side of Aussie culture. No more she’ll be right, no more fair go and sadly no more fair dinkum. The doco proved to all of us (or is it just me?) that the Australian identity isn’t really what we believe it to be. After viewing this documentary
It is well known that Captain Arthur Philips landed in Australia on 26th of January and took over the land and is referred to as “invasion Day”. Yet little do people know, Captain Arthur Phillip didn’t land in Australia on 26 January. He first landed in Australia between the 18th and 20th of January 1788 in Botany Bay, however where he landed he couldn’t find fresh water so he then sailed into Sydney Cove on the 26th where he found a Tank Stream…..problem solved. Australia day today celebrates our diverse society, our remarkable achievements, our future as a nation and how we can make Australia a better
Then it was the outback pioneer, battling the bush to build a new nation prior to the First World War. The Anzac legend – bold and ferocious males, unwilling to bow to military discipline, never flinched in battle defined the evolution of the image of Australian masculinity. Professor Manning Clark in his opus A History of Australia imaged the bronzed and noble Anzac as males involved in sex orgies, having violent scuffles, and in Egypt burned belongings of local people, brawled, got drunk and rioted and patronised brothels. Hero and larrikin, ratbag and rebel, the Anzacs ... ...
The soldiers are remembered for maintaining courage and determination under hopeless conditions. The ANZAC legend owes much to wartime correspondents who used the Gallipoli landing to generate a specifically Australian hero. Among the many reports, which reached Australia, were those of Ashmead-Bartlett. His Gallipoli dispatches described Australians as a 'race of athletes ... practical above all', whose cheers, even in death, 'resounded throughout the night'. Ashmead-Bartlett helped in...
anzacday.org.au. (2000). Being a historian: Investigating the Battle of Long Tan. Retrieved May 29th, 2014, from anzacday.org.au: http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/activities/longtan/longtan01.html
The Anzac Legend is the source of the Aussie Fight and bravery that will live on for future generations to understand and to acknowledge their courage and bravery.
The Gallipoli campaign was a military disaster but it is still one of the most important conflicts in which Australia was involved. On 25th April 1915 between 4:30 and 6:30 am the Gallipoli Peninsula was invaded by British, Australian and New Zealand forces. This was to start the long, hard weeks in which the troops were fighting for ground that the enemy controlled in Turkey. They were attempting to gain a supply route to Russia to aid them in repelling the German and Turkish soldiers from their country. I will be discussing the willingness of Australians to volunteer for the war effort and the love and respect they had for their Mother Country, England. I will also discuss how the young, naive soldiers arrived at war not knowing what warfare entailed. They were shocked by the conditions and casualties. I will also discuss the bravery that was shown by the ANZACS in the most dangerous conditions. I will conclude with my reasons of why the Gallipoli campaign holds such value and importance in Australian history and ideology.
Seal, G. ( 2007). ANZAC: The scared in the secular. Journal of Australian Studies, 31(91), 135-144. doi: 10.1080/14443050709388135
Australia Day, celebrated on the 26th of January every year, is a nationally recognised day that signifies the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet. It’s a historic event that also marks the beginning of the oppression of the Indigenous people, that still can occur today, no matter how much the Government has tried to atone for the sins of the past. Australia Day is a day of celebration and mourning, a fact that contributes to the constant bickering between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous. There are many who believe that the meaning behind the modern Australia Day is overshadowed by the past, which will prevent the nation from moving forward, much like Ben Roberts-Smith who published an opinion piece in the Herald Sun on the 26th
Peter Weir’s 1981 film Gallipoli can in every sense of the phrase be called an ‘Australian classic’. The impact and effect this film has had upon the psyche and perspective of several generations of Australians has been significant. Whilst it can be argued that every Australian is aware of the ANZAC legend, and the events that occurred on the Turkish beaches in 1915, Weir’s film encapsulates and embodies a cultural myth which is now propagated as fact and embraced as part of the contemporary Australian identity. The film projects a sense of Australian nationalism that grew out of the 1970’s, and focuses on what it ‘means’ to be an Australian in a post-colonial country. In this way Gallipoli embodies a sense of ‘Australian-ness’ through the depiction of mateship and through the stark contrast of Australia to Britain. A sense of the mythic Australia is further projected through the cinematic portrayal of the outback, and the way in which Australia is presented in isolation from the rest of the world. These features combined create not only a sense of nationalism, but also a mythology stemming from the ANZAC legend as depicted within the film.
The Australian War Memorial website has a section dedicated to the tradition of ANZAC Day which explains its cultural importance to Australians and the rituals which surround commemoration services
Reynolds, H. (2005). Nowhere People: How international race thinking shaped Australia’s identity. Australia: Penguin Group
Aboriginal soldiers returned to their country where they had no citizenship rights, controlled by the government policies which prevented them from living in towns, socialising with other Australians and voting. This is evident in phrases such as, “He returned to the outback, no mates did he find. If he had a beer he was jailed and then fined,” and, “Confused and alone he wandered around, Looking for work though none could be found. The Anzac marches he badly neglected, Would show to his comrades how he was rejected.” This informs the reader about how the Aboriginal soldiers did not receive the same benefits as the European soldiers did, even though they made the same sacrifices during the
Anzac Day. On the 25th of April, 1915 Australian and New Zealand forces formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula. Anzac day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that commemorates the Australia New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) who served in all wars, battles and conflicts. Anzac day is an important day for many Australians and New Zealanders as it is a day where people take time to appreciate the soldiers who risked or gave their lives to represent and fight for our country in all the wars. Since Anzac day is celebrated so widely, there are many opinions that have developed over time. Some Australians and New Zealanders believe Anzac day shouldn’t be celebrated and others believe