Anzac Day background: tradition, spirit, legend, significance

	Resources for Anzac Day lessons
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Anzac Day Websites
Background to Anzac Day

See also

Tradition, spirit, legend, significance of Anzac Day

Anzac Day background

See the sections below for:

    ● Spirit and legend of Anzac Day
    ● History of Anzac Day
    ● Significance of Anzac Day
    ● Tradition of Anzac Day
    ● Australian identity
    ● New Zealand
    ● Fact sheets
    ● Academic publications

and more.

Note that these topics (spirit, tradition, legend, history, significance) OVERLAP CONSIDERABLY.

See our other pages for the following topics:

    ● Aboriginals and war
    ● Anzac biscuits
    ● Anzac or ANZAC?
    ● Digger slang
    ● Slouch hat
    ● Women in wartime
    ● Issues (eg, negatives of the legend)

Spirit and legend

ANZAC Spirit (Wikipedia)
From the free Wikipedia Encyclopedia, which is written by volunteers.

The Spirit of ANZAC (anzacday.org.au)
The place of the Anzac spirit in the history of Australia and New Zealand.

The Spirit of ANZAC (clubsonline.com.au - National RSL site)
Gallipoli and the origin of the Anzac spirit.

The ANZAC Spirit (rslwahq.org.au)
From the Western Australia RSL.

Anzac Day (australia.gov.au, previously at cultureandrecreation.gov.au)
Scroll down for "The Anzac legend".

Dawn of the Legend (awm.gov.au)
Note the menu at the right.

Gallipoli campaign (awm.gov.au)
The origin of the ANZAC legend and ANZAC spirit summed up.

ANZAC Day (rslwahq.org.au)
From the Western Australia RSL. Especially see:
- The ANZAC Spirit

The Anzac legend (Skwirk.com.au Interactive Schooling)
Covers: What is the legend? How was it created? Why is it important? (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 ANZACs Chapter 3: The Anzac legend

Negatives of the Anzac legend (Skwirk.com.au Interactive Schooling)
Covers: the immediate impact, repercussions for sciety today. (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 ANZACs Chapter 4: Negatives of the legend

The Anzac Legends [pdf] (museumvictoria.com.au)
The beginning or World War 1, Gallipoli, Anzacs at Gallipoli, the Anzac legend, after the war.

The First World War and the Anzac Legend [pdf] (cambridge.edu.au)
Sample pages from a commercially available book for secondary students, Analysing Australian History by Ken Webb (Cambridge web page). The chapter includes Gallipoli, What is the 'Anzac legend'?, What happened on the Western Front?

● See also Issues (eg, for negatives of the legend)

Spirit and legend activities

Anzac legend sample essay activity [pdf] (http://www.macmillan.com.au)
Activity using a sample essay to answer the question "Explain how and why the Anzac legend was created."
Scroll to the five pages beginning with question 6. From Australia and World War 1, published by Macmillan.

Investigating the Spirit of ANZAC: Image & Reality [pdf] (anzacday.org.au)
Worksheets for students on the Anzac spirit, with a focus on Simpson and his donkeys. More information.

History of Anzac Day

See also History above

History of Anzac Day, the Dawn Service (dva.gov.au)
(Previously called "Significance of Anzac Day")
● See also the crossword The Significance of Anzac Day which is based on this web page.

Significance of Anzac Day (anzac.govt.nz
From "A guide to Anzac Day for New Zealanders".

Tradition

The Anzac Day Tradition (awm.gov.au)
Explains why Anzac Day is special to Australians and how it has been commemorated in the past.

A is for ANZACs (anzacday.org.au)
A to Z of 26 Anzac Day traditions and terms.

ANZAC Day: Tradition, Facts and Folklore (anzacday.org.au)
The origins and history of a variety of elements of the Anzac tradition.

The relevance of Anzac (Parliament of Australia: Parliamentary Library)
Scroll down to the following section:
- Traditions and rituals of Anzac Day
(Note that many links are not accessible as this material was produced for users of the Parliamentary Library.)

Australian identity

Despatches from Gallipoli: Australian Identity (nla.gov.au)
Click on AUSTRALIAN IDENTITY at the top or the links at the bottom of the screen.

Mateship, diggers and wartime (australia.gov.au, previously at cultureandrecreation.gov.au)

Gallipoli and Australian Identity: 1915-2000 [pdf file]
Student activity booklet to download.

National Identity (awm.gov.au)
Australia was without the usual nationally recognised symbols of a country at the time of Federation.

Mateship: The heart of the Anzac spirit (diggerhistory.info - if the link is not working, see Where is Digger History?)
Includes a photo of a soldier carrying a wounded comrade.

New Zealand

Anzac Day (New Zealand History Online)
The evolution of Anzac Day:
The making of Anzac Day
- 1915: Gallipoli remembered
- 1916: a half-day holiday
- Patriotism and remembrance
A sacred holiday - Anzac Day
- A public holiday
- Nationhood and peace
Another war and peace - Anzac Day
Modern Anzac Day

History of Anzac Day (rsa.org.nz)

Fact sheets - Australia

Anzac Day - ANZAC quick facts (australia.gov.au, previously at cultureandrecreation.gov.au)
Scroll to the bottom for "ANZAC quick facts".

RSL: ANZAC Day (clubsonline.com.au - National RSL site)
Includes some "Frequently Asked Questions". If this link doesn't work, go to the main RSL website, then cick on Commemoration, then Anzac Day.

Fact sheets - New Zealand

Anzac Day and Gallipoli fact sheet (New Zealand) (Christchurch City Libraries)

ANZAC DAY [Word doc] (anzac.govt.nz)
The Gallipoli Campaign, the Anzac Day ceremony.

Academic publications

1918 Year of Victory (awm.gov.au)
International conference 1918 Year of Victory
Summaries of papers presented at a conference on aspects of World War 1. This gathering of experts led to publication of "1918 Year of Victory", a book by Ashley Elkins (link to commercial site).

Gallipoli - legend versus myth
For references on this topic, see the Parliamentary Library's Gallipoli (scroll down). (The links generally lead to information about publications rather than the publications themselves.)

● See also: Anzac spirit printable and interactive wordsearches

● For Anzac Day Requiem, see Ceremonies

See also:

● News images
● Gallipoli photographs
● Gallipoli films
● Slideshow videos
● Maps
● Shipwrecks
● Books
● Issues
● Anzac or ANZAC?
● Slouch hat

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