With so many people grieving, the notion of doing so in public was seen as tasteless and vulgar. Funerals became smaller, people put on a brave face in public and fewer people wore black.
With General John Monash in command and four companies of US soldiers fighting alongside the Australians, the battle was a resounding success, taking just 93 minutes
The roots of today’s Israel-Palestine crisis can be traced back to colonial power dealings during World War I – of which the Gallipoli campaign and Anzac legend are an integral part.
Rowan Light, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
A national day for commemoration of the New Zealand Wars has struggled for attention and public engagement. So did Anzac Day once, and its survival can provide useful lessons.
Beyond the familiar ideas of mateship and sacrifice, Anzac Day offers an opportunity to teach young people a more complicated but meaningful version of history.
Jeffrey McNeill, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Evidence shows New Zealand’s first world war soldiers killed both surrendering and wounded German soldiers. Their actions, condoned at the highest level, cast a long shadow.
In 26 of his 38 plays, Shakespeare includes a war. Reading them, one is tempted to ask ‘when will we ever learn?’ rather than pronounce, ‘lest we forget’.
A close friend of John Curtin, Dame Mary Gilmore wrote poems on topics such as colonial violence and the plight of the koala. How has her great, great nephew, Scott Morrison, chosen to remember her?
By pushing the timing of approval back to April, likely just before the election, the government has put itself in a position to use the curriculum to score political points.
Public debates about the Australian Curriculum are arguably a sign of democracy at work. Suggesting that some things, such as Anzac Day, are sacred and beyond critical inquiry is not.
Rowan Light, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
As trans-Tasman borders re-open and in the wake of the Christchurch attacks, Anzac Day gains new meaning and presents new challenges – just as it has always done.
Avenues of Honour were planted to remind us of the sacrifice and suffering of our servicemen and women. But as the years wore on, many declined or disappeared.