Anzac Day
Anzac Day (/ˈænzæk/; Māori: Rā Whakamahara ki ngā Hōia o Ahitereiria me Aotearoa[2] or Rā o ngā Hōia)[1] is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".[3][4] Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).
Anzac Day
Commemorative, patriotic, historic
National day of remembrance and first landing of the Anzacs at Gallipoli
Dawn services, commemorative marches, remembrance services
25 April 2024
Annual
As a public holiday[edit]
ANZAC Day is a public holiday in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga (including in the dependencies of Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Cook Islands, Niue, Norfolk Island and Tokelau).[74]
Commercialisation[edit]
From the beginning, there has been concern to protect the Anzac tradition from inappropriate use. In Australia, use of the word "Anzac" is regulated under the Protection of Word "Anzac" Act 1920.[180] The Protection of Word 'Anzac' Regulations 1921 state that: "no person may use the word 'Anzac', or any word resembling it, in connection with any trade, business, calling or profession or in connection with any entertainment or any lottery or art union or as the name or part of a name of any private residence, boat, vehicle of charitable or other institution, or other institution, or any building without the authority of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs". The maximum penalty is 12 months imprisonment, or $10,200 for a person and $51,000 for a corporation.[181]
Over recent years, some historians and commentators have raised concerns over what they see as the increasing commercialisation of Anzac Day. In 2015, historian Carolyn Holbrook stated that companies were seeking to associate themselves with Anzac Day as "Anzac is the most potent and popular brand going around in Australia today".[182] Questionable Anzac marketing campaigns included Woolworths' notorious 'Fresh in Our Memories' campaign in 2015, which provoked a strong public backlash. According to Holbrook, Anzac is more sacred than Easter or Christmas to many.[7] Historian Professor Joan Beaumont, researcher Jo Hawkins and historical commentator David Stephens have argued that the Federal Government has not been sufficiently enforcing regulations which limit the extent to which companies can refer to Anzac Day, or use the word "Anzac", in their marketing.[182][183] There has been widespread public opposition to the more blatant attempts to commercialise Anzac Day, which has led to some products being withdrawn from sale. Many of the products associated with the centenary of the Gallipoli landings were also commercial failures.[184]
A notable exception is the manufacture and sale of the Anzac biscuit, originally home made to published recipes from about 1920,[185] and for many decades manufactured commercially for retail sale in both Australia and New Zealand. Commercial manufacture and sale of the biscuits is explicitly exempted from restrictions on the use of the word "Anzac".[186]
Criticism of some commemorations[edit]
For decades, there have been concerns that the participation of young people in Anzac Day events has injected a carnival element into what is traditionally a solemn occasion. The change was highlighted by a rock concert-style performance at the 2005 Anzac Cove commemoration during which attendees drank and slept between headstones. After the event the site was left strewn with rubbish.[187][188][189] In 2013, historian Jonathan King said that "escalating commercial pressures threaten to turn the centenary [of the landing at Gallipoli] into a Big Day Out."[190]
Digital change has been the focus of recent concern. The centenary commemoration of Anzac and the First World War has coincided with the emergence of a mature internet and comprehensive use of social media. According to Tom Sear, a new era of 'digital commemoration' of Anzac Day has begun.[191] Anzac Day selfies, memes, virtual reality Anzac avatars, Facebook posts and Tweeting are part of a new participative, and immersive experience of the day. Digital media have "personalised" the experience of Anzac Day, focusing on "sharing" the activities online. In a time when the line between being "online" and "offline" is increasingly blurred, there has been a turn towards commemorative activities that seek to generate empathy and connection between contemporary audiences and historical subjects through digital media.[192] Leading news organisations such as the ABC[193] and News Corp[194] "live tweeted" and "Facebooked" the original Anzac landings in 2015. These online forums, and their capacity for personalised feedback, have disquieted some historians, who are concerned about the distance, solemnity and critical perspective of traditional Anzac Day commemorations being lost.[195][196] Equally others emphasise how, particularly young people, using these technologies of the present, play a role in connecting wider communities of Anzac Day commemorators.[197]
Criticism of Anzac Day[edit]
At its inception, Anzac Day faced criticism from the Australian labour movement, and in the country at large, there has been opposition to political exploitation of what was seen as a day of mourning.[198] One controversy occurred in 1960 with the publication of Alan Seymour's classic play, The One Day of the Year,[199] which dramatised the growing social divide in Australia and the questioning of old values. In the play, Anzac Day is critiqued by the central character, Hughie, as a day of drunken debauchery by returned soldiers and as a day when questions of what it means to be loyal to a nation or Empire must be raised. The play was scheduled to be performed at the inaugural Adelaide Festival of Arts, but after complaints from the Returned Services League, the governors of the Festival refused permission for this to occur.[200]
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, related to Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war and other issues, Anzac Day not only sank in popularity but was the focus for the expression of much dissent. (See § Popularity sinks)
Anzac Day has been criticised in recent years by a number of Australians and New Zealanders, as, for example, "a day that obscures the politics of war and discourages political dissent".[201][202] In October 2008, former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating stated that he believes it is misguided for people to gather each year at Anzac Cove to commemorate the landing at Gallipoli, because it is "utter and complete nonsense" to suggest that the nation was "born again or even, redeemed there."[203] Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister at the time, rejected Keating's views, saying the Gallipoli campaign is "part of our national consciousness, it's part of our national psyche, it's part of our national identity, and I, for one, as Prime Minister of the country, am absolutely proud of it."[204]
Some critics have suggested that the revival in public interest in Anzac Day amongst the young results from the fact that younger Australians have not themselves experienced war.[205][206][207] Critics see the revival as part of a rise of unreflective nationalism in Australia which was particularly fostered by the then Australian Prime Minister John Howard.[208][209][210][211] Some historians believe Anzac Day events are now on the decline, although it is likely there will continue to be smaller dawn services and official events in the future. Martin Crotty thought that perhaps it was now a ritual for older, traditional Australians, with old values of mateship and loyalty and even as a "reaction against globalisation"; however, Carolyn Holbrook disagrees, arguing that young people are responsible for the resurgence, and among older people there is a big group of sceptics, Baby Boomers who were influenced by Vietnam War protests.[7]
Other criticisms have revolved around a perceived overzealousness in Australian attachment to the event, either from participants unaware of the loss or when the focus is at the expense of remembrance of the contribution of New Zealand.[190] In 2005, John Howard was criticised for shunning the New Zealand Anzac ceremony at Gallipoli,[212] preferring instead to spend his morning at a barbecue on the beach with Australian soldiers. In 2009, New Zealand historians noted that some Australian children were unaware that New Zealand was a part of ANZAC.[213] In 2012, a New Zealand journalist caused controversy following comments that Australian World War I soldiers were bludgers and thieves.[214]