(no subject)

[darren_stranger]

Not a sarcastic comment but a genuine question:

Can anyone explain to me why the Gallipoli invasion is supposed to have marked Australia's 'coming of age as a nation' and why it's so central to our 'national identity'?

Comments

[usekh.livejournal.com]

It was the first war we went into as our own nation, with our own army under our own officers. First time we stood up with the rest of the world as a nation in our own right.

Now you can argue this, but still thats pretty much why.

[usekh.livejournal.com]

Not saying I agree with it 100% myself mind :)

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

Makes some sense at least.

[baralier.livejournal.com]

Pretty much what usekh said.

WWI was the first war since Federation that Australian troops had fought in.

Gallipoli was the first assignment of Australian troops as the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps rather than as Australian individuals in other regiments or even as a company of the NSW Lancers assigned to British Command during the Boer Wars.

[darkstardeity.livejournal.com]

First time we stood up with the rest of the world as a nation in our own right.

And blindly followed where another nation lead us, to the biggest cock-up imaginable.

Yep, I'd say it was a defining moment and central to our national identity *sigh*

[octobrianaoz.livejournal.com]

Not sure, what it's very "Catch 22" to me. That is, rather than condemn a failure, you celebrate it!

[strang-er.livejournal.com]

At least the "first war we went into as our own nation, with our own army under our own officers" bit makes some logical sense. Other than that i only ever got some vague impression that the "Aussie spirit" was somehow supposed to be defined by the image of the Diggers. (That always bothered me by implying we didn't have a national identity until we went off to be cannon fodder in someone else's war - somehow i reckon there's a bit more to us as a nation than that).

[recumbenteer.livejournal.com]

Interstingly the defense of Gallipoli has a 'birth of a Nation' mythology to Turkey as well.

The commander of Turkish troops at Gallipoli, Ataturk, went on to lead a modern, secular Turkey from the remnants of the Ottoman empire.

[slowlight.livejournal.com]

Pretty much as said above.

Recall that the States only federated 14 years earlier, and there was still a sizeable amount of the population (mostly in NSW and Vic) who were still scratching their heads, wondering what the benefit of federation was supposed to be and whether it was possible to undo it and to go back to being separate States.

My understanding is that mythologising (is that a word?) the whole ANZAC thingy was an attempt to sideline a lot of the concerns being raised by anti-Federationists by putting the view that we went to war and earned the 'respect' of the Empire, not as separate States, but as a nation.