One-hundred-and-one years after the landings at Gallipoli, it is time the mythologising about Australia's role in the First World War ended.
Many of the things we have come to believe about Gallipoli - for example, that Australians bore the brunt of the casualties - are untrue.
![There is much of which we can be truly proud in the Anzac legacy. The desire to embellish history is unnecessary and ...](/web/20160903195910im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/t/3/4/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.goafaj.png/1461103927101.jpg)
Worse still, some of our misunderstandings are the result of the fevered jingoism of authors such as Peter FitzSimons. A rollicking good yarn they might be, but a fair representation of history is another matter.
This is a shame, because there is much of which we can be truly proud in the Anzac legacy. The sad desire to embellish history is unnecessary and unworthy.
![More than 40,000 people gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance for the Brisbane Anzac Day dawn service last year.](/web/20160903195910im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/y/3/x/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.goafaj.png/1461103927101.jpg)
That being so, here are five things worth considering about Anzac Day, and Australia's role in the First World War.
First, the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, which lent its name to ANZAC, was not composed of just Australians and New Zealanders. In fact, it was a very multinational and multicultural force. When the Australians and New Zealanders went ashore, they were accompanied by troops from the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps, Jewish soldiers from the Zion Mule Corps, and Indian Mountain Brigade, who were all part of ANZAC.
Second, Queenslanders played a significant role in the Gallipoli campaign. The most vital of the Allied positions was Quinn's Post, since it controlled Shrapnel Valley, and therefore the beach at Anzac Cove. Quinn's was largely defended by Queenslanders, and when the Turks exploded a mine under the Post in May 1915, it was a young lieutenant from Brisbane, Terence McSharry, who saved the position. McSharry is largely forgotten today, but he arguably saved the entire position at Gallipoli in one morning.
Third, Anzac Day had its genesis in Brisbane in January 1916. The Mayor of Brisbane called a meeting to consider how to honour our troops. It was proposed that April 25 be made a day of solemn commemoration, and Canon David Garland, the committee secretary, put together a plan for the ceremonies. This plan was adopted by each of the other states, and became what we now know as Anzac Day.
Fourth, while Australian and New Zealand soldiers took terrible casualties, the British suffered far more. There were 8709 Australians and 2721 New Zealanders killed at Gallipoli, but 34,072 soldiers from Britain died there too.
Finally, stories of ANZAC courage are well deserved. Australian and New Zealand soldiers were highly regarded for their fighting qualities. Albert Jacka, who won a Victoria Cross at Gallipoli, exemplifies the Australian courage.
He was in a trench with four other men when it was heavily attacked. One by one, the others were killed or wounded until only Jacka remained. The Turks then rushed the position and seven of them got into the trench. Jacka singlehandedly attacked them and killed all seven, five with rifle fire and two with his bayonet.
When the war was over, almost 275,000 of these men returned home to build a nation. The traces of war were everywhere. Nearly one in three households sent a man away, but 55,000 Australians were killed and 155,000 were wounded.
Imagine if that happened today. In an age when we are largely untouched by war, we should spare an hour or so on Anzac Day to honour those who have served to keep our nation free.
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