The horrors that were experienced by the soldiers fighting in Gallipoli
significantly shaped and influenced the Australian identity and uniqueness that
is still known today. During World War 1, Australian
soldiers were called upon to fight for Britain in a number of campaigns
including that of Gallipoli. Before the outbreak of war in Europe, the
Australian identity was distinctly different because of the British influence
over the nation. While the Australian
soldiers were fighting in Gallipoli they experienced terrible living and
fighting conditions. These awful conditions changed the Australian soldiers and
convinced them of their identity as Australian rather than British. When the
soldiers returned home from Gallipoli, their changed spirit and new found
identity spread throughout the nation and a new Australian was born.The campaign in Gallipoli was great and
horrifying enough to radically affect the Australian spirit and identity.
Prior
to 1914, Australia was a nation that considered themselves as an extension of
the British Empire rather than an independent country with different
aspirations and beliefs. Australia was still a developing nation and was
struggling to develop an identity separate from that of England. During the years before the outbreak of war,
with the Japanese gaining power daily, Australia adjusted its aspirations and
specifically supported the development of the naval and military forces. Young
boys that grew up before 1914 were deliberately taught the virtues of
patriotism and the glories of race and Empire. Essentially, the government was
ensuring that when the war eventually broke out these same boys would feel
compelled to enlist in the army to protect the British Empire. Australians
believed they were obligated to support Britain and so when the call came to
defend the Empire their eagerness could not be contained.
The
conditions that the soldiers went through while fighting in Gallipoli had an
enormous and immediate impact on their spirit and the pride they held in being
Australian. The
Gallipoli campaign was fought under physically demanding conditions but
soldiers also became aware of the poor British leadership, that their lives
were of little value to higher authority and that the strength of their
Australian spirit was enough to give them greater faith in themselves over
their British leadership. As the war
in Gallipoli dragged on, the horrors only intensified. The whole Gallipoli operation
cost Australia 26111 casualties, including 8141 deaths. Some believe this number was largely due to
the poor British leadership and their lack of care for the Australian soldiers.
The Australians experienced horrific injuries, lack of nutrition, poor
leadership, new and unknown illnesses and diseases among other things while
fighting in Gallipoli. Australians respected the British less as this continued
and to started to believe in each other and the value of mateship and
brotherhood. They began to pride
themselves in being Australian rather than British and instead of fighting to
protect Britain they were fighting to protect and prove Australia and it’s
strength. An
Australian spirit was born within the terrifying conditions that were Gallipoli
and it was this spirit that led the nation to find a new sense of identity.
When the soldiers that had
survived the war returned home they brought with them a sense of pride and
unique traits that founded an Australian identity that was not there before. This campaign, among many
others, is what began the moment and national feeling towards becoming a united
nation. The way in which Australians looked at themselves and their world had
been radically adjusted and the generations of Australians that came after the
war were brought up with new and different values that were now considered
‘Australian’. The media was one of the many
influences over this change in spirit and identity for a number of reasons.
Newspapers, photographs, books and magazines all proclaimed this sense of pride
in their soldiers that had not been reported on before; the public believed it.
They printed their disappointment in the British leaders and told stories of the
terrible conditions and through this the public was led to appreciate the
enormity of war and experience the same sense of pride that the soldiers felt
in themselves and their country.
In 2011, this is all still know
and remembered because of the countless tributes to the Australian soldiers
including ANZAC Day Parades, RSL clubs, patriotic movies and several
documentaries. Australia as a country learnt
the values of mateship, unity, bravery, friendship, endurance, tenacity and
pride through the battles that were Gallipoli.
Even though only a fifth of
Australians actually fought in Gallipoli, it affected the identity of everybody
in the entire nation. Before the war, during the war and after the war had
finished the Australian identity was continually changing and developing.
Although before the war the Australians were struggling to separate themselves
from their British origins, afterwards they had a distinct and unique identity
which had stemmed from the soldiers experience in Gallipoli. Despite being defeated, the Gallipoli
campaign has become a defining moment in the development of the Australian identity.
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