Beyond the Legend of Anzac
(abc.net.au) Hindsight
ABC Hindsight program:
"Professor Marilyn Lake explores whether the Anzac
legend as a foundation story for the birth of the Australian nation has run
its course." Audio and transcript
provided. (The book What's Wrong with Anzac? The Militarisation of
Australia's Historyby Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds with Mark
McKenna and Joy Diamond is
available
commercially.)
See also:
-
Myths and Legends (SMH, 25 April 2010)
-
Pride in the past isn't necessarily a lost cause (The Australian, 24
April 2010), and
- Evolving
History (ABC's The Drum Unleashed, 23 April 2010). Also see the
following related item.
What lies beneath a national legend (theaustralian.com.au) "Much
of what we commemorate on Anzac Day is a journalist's construct."
Christopher Bantick argues that much of what you read and have been taught
about the Anzacs is a myth.
The meaning of Anzac Day
(onlineopinion.com)
From On Line Opinion, "Australia's e-journal of social
and political debate".
Examines the issues raised in What's Wrong with Anzac
(see above two items) and concludes: "...
regardless of the importance of Australian wartime stories, we
should take seriously claims by Marilyn Lake and others of a
“militarisation” of Australian history."
The first casualty
(theaustralian.com.au) The Australian, 24 April 2010
Newspaper article and review of several books by Paul Ham:
The Australian, 24 April 2010.
"I chose the
books under review on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of
Gallipoli because they tell us things we may not -- or prefer not to
-- know about Australians at war."
Negatives of the legend (Skwirk.com.au Interactive Schooling)
- "it is not widely known that people argue that there are negative
implications and repercussions of the legend itself..."
(Note that this is a commercial
site which requires paid membership for
access to illustrations and additional information.)For a dot-point summary, see
Gallipoli and the ANZACsChapter 4: Negatives of the legend.
Reconsidering Gallipoli:
Review by Bill Gammage [pdf] (nla.gov.au/openpublish) Review of a book by Jenny
Macleod in which she compares the British and Australian views of Gallipoli
- 'the myth of Gallipoli in Britain, and the legend of Anzac in Australia'.
Charge of the rewrite brigade (battleforaustralia.org)
Also titled Dr Peter Stanley speaks about Gallipoli myths.
Reproduction of an article by Jonathan King in The Australian, with added
highlighting in bold to support the argument that the Anzac legend is a myth
Anzac Day: the commemoration (Skwirk.com.au Interactive Schooling) Scroll down to Anzac Day in current times. (The site is a
commercial site that requires membership to access further material.) For a
dot-point summary, see
Gallipoli and the ANZACsChapter 5: The commemoration.
Anzac Kids - participation of children in marches
(abc.net.au) Behind The News
A Behind the News report on the issue of young people participating in Anzac
Day marches. Contains video, transcript, activities sheet (Word
or
PDF).
The
truth will always win (blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au) The Australian, 7 December 2010
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange compares his exposure of government
communications with Sir Keith Murdoch revealing that Australian troops had
died at Gallipoli as a result of incompetent British leadership.
WikiLeaks has Anzac ancestor (melbourneweekly.com.au) The Melbourne Weekly, 9 December 2010
Points out that a writing effort of Sir Keith Murdoch's contained errors and
worse.
.
Last Anzacs: What kinds were there?
(anzacwebsites.com) See the box which lists seven soldiers. Alec Campbell is
generally regarded as the "last Anzac". But that depends on how you define
"last Anzac".
ANZAC Day - Talking about war with children (planningwithkids.com)
Anzac Day is an appropriate time to discuss war with
children. A Behind the News handout on discussions with children on war and
violence in the news make a number of useful points.
To Anzac Day Websites main page