ANZAC Day

At approximately 4:30am, on the 25th of April 1915, a cohort of Turkish troops were practicing drills under their commandant, Kemal Artarturk. In the distance they began to see dark shapes blotting the otherwise clear meeting point between the sky and the sea. From this vantage point the few hundred Turkish soldiers on the beaches at that time were unprepared for what was to come, just as landing boats packed to the brim with ANZAC divisions were.   

It is this episode in Australian history that joins the fate of the land in which we live with others: the beginning of an ultimately successful Turkish campaign to thwart an invasion by British, French and an array of colonial troops. The historical context however, is quite notable: the landings at Gallipoli coincided with the day after Pontian Greeks were expelled from what is now Western Turkey, while Armenians were forced to emigrate from their homeland or face the prospect of being executed within the Ottoman Empire. 

Thus, if ANZAC Day can be said to commemorate an event which in ceremonies from the Australian War Memorial is dubbed as ‘the birth of a nation’, then in context, the invasion of Gallipoli marked a period of time where Australian international relations began to more coherently play a part in the fates of empires, international alliances and other nations. On a personal level, it also was the catalyst for the first veterans’ community marches pin 1916, that provided a later template for how ANZAC commemorations take place. These events provided the foundation for many of the values that are affiliated with ANZACs: resilience, grit, mateship as well as the ability to deal with hardship with a unique mix of humour, cheek and determination.

On the 25th of April, our college was represented by the College captains,  Meira Jackson and Cynthia Liong, in the first ceremony where there was relaxed COVID-19 restrictions in two years. It was also notable because it was the first ANZAC Day that officially welcomed the veterans of Afghanistan and other Middle East campaigns home, after the formal withdrawal of peacekeeping operations was executed last year. This announcement was quite significant because it marked the conclusion of nearly 20 years of Australian involvement in the region, which at the time it started, was a cause of tension between the ANZUS alliance. It also marks an about-face from the treatment given to Vietnam Veterans when they returned. Our College captains were a credit to BCR during this quite moving service where they laid a wreath in honour of the contributions of Australians to the defence of the country. 

A very big thank you must go to the organisers, particularly the teams working with Mike Stirling of Coogee RSL Sub-Branch and Kiaya Hacene of Randwick Council, without whom this event would not be able to take place each year. The service can be live-streamed here.

David Nally

Head of HSIE (Stage 6)