25 Apr 1915 is the day Anzac troops landed at Gallipoli, and after 11 months of ghting against the
Ottoman Empire, the Turkeys still gained the victory. In the eyes of any Australians, the Anzacs still
played an important role in the Gallipoli campaign, because of their displays contributed to bravery
and mateship. This essay will discuss how the feats and stories of such mateship and bravery
contributed by this war.
The Gallipoli campaign was Australia’s rst major overseas battle after its 1901 federation, it is has
been important for contributing to the Australian narrative for decades, the importance of the
Anzacs was widespread at an early time of the nineteenth century, in 2016 that Parliamentary
Library, which is a trusted source of information, analysis and advice for the Australian Parliament,
noted in their online research paper entitled “Anzac day traditions and rituals: a quick guide” as
follows:
By the late 1920s, Anzac Day was a public holiday in every state and territory. (Watt, 2016)
This shows that most of Australians had realise the importance of commemorating the Anzacs at
that time, particularly to contribute the self identity of certain Australians. A survey did by Jed
Donoghue and Bruce Tranter, investigated what extent can differences in the social and political
backgrounds of Australians inform us about the longevity of the Anzacs as a national myth, noted
in their online report entitled “The Anzac Myth and Australian National Identity” as follows:
Data from the 2911 AussA suggest that Anzacs are far by the most in uential historical gures in
relation to Australians identity. Anzacs were chosen by 47 percent of respondents as their rst
choice, with a further 17 percent selecting their second. (Donoghue, 2014)
This observation indicates that nearly half of those adults surveyed had chosen the Anzacs as their
rst choice for national role models in terms of Australians like to see themselves. And among
these people, the Australian-born ones are more likely than immigrants prioritise the Anzacs,
because they had gone through the Australia education system for a long time, where the Anzacs
are honoured each year on 25 April. As a result, they have been in uenced more by the Anzac
than other historical characters.
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Mateship has a major role to play in the Australian identity. The word “mateship” is de ned by the
of cial blog of Macquarie Dictionary, generally considered by universities and the legal profession
to be the authoritative source on Australian English, as follows:
It’s my feeling that mateship is a stronger and tougher relationship than friendship, having been
forged in adversity. (Macquarie Dictionary, 2017)
This shows that when mates went to the war, mateship acquired a patina of noble sacri ce for
comrades and the country . This observation indicates that mateship usually forms in dire
circumstances, such as the relationships formed between the Anzac soldiers and their comrades
when they fought in Gallipoli. The soldiers relies on each other to battle through the hard times. A
prominent example demonstrating mateship is the story of “The Man with the Donkey”. In regard
to the issue Monument Australia, a historical and educational research site which records the
public monuments and memorials in all Australian States and Territories, noted in their plaque
description of the sculpture of the Simpson and his donkey by Peter Corlett 1988 as follows:
Simpson has come to embody for Australians. The spirit of self sacri ce in war. (Corlett, 1988)
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This observation displays the true nature of mateship, as Simpson brought up water using his
donkey and rescued wounded man from the ring line on the ridges above and carried them back
to Anzac Cove, showing the attributes of diggers: pure, sel ess and warm hearted, which has
grown into the role model for Australians today.
Stories of bravery at Gallipoli have also contributed to establishing the national identity. An
example of bravery in the battle is Albert Jacka. He was the rst Australian to be decorated with the
Victoria Cross during the First World War, receiving the medal for his actions during the Gallipoli
Campaign. In a patriotic to the article written by Michael Rowland posted on ABC News, entitled
“Albert Jacka: the ‘Australian Achilles’ whose bravery saw him awarded the country’s rst Victory
Cross of the war”, it was noted as follows:
As his fellow diggers threw diversionary bombs, Jacka skirted around the rear trenches before
coming back to the forward trench, leaping over the parapet into No Man’s land and surprising the
Turks from behind.
He shot ve Turks and bayoneted two as the others hastily retreated. (Rowland, 2015)
This observation indicates the heroic deeds of Albert Jacka in the Gallipoli campaign. He had
risked his life in adversity and showed conspicuous bravery, which became well known by the
award of the Victoria Cross. One hundred years on, Jacka’s Gallipoli bravery is still commemorated
in the media.
Another story of bravery from the Gallipoli campaign comes from the letter of George Herbert
Bourne. In the battle he took temporary command of the regiment whose role was to attack Turkish
positions near Quinn's Post in four successive waves. The rst wave was annihilated and, realising
that similar attempts must meet the same fate, he ordered his men to stay in the trenches. Bourne
wrote to his mother noted as follows:
We have now been here under re for almost three weeks. We were shelled while being landed in
The Torpedo boat – the landing beach is constantly being shelled & we have been bombed, sniped
etc. practically ever since. (Bourne, 1915)
This letter illustrates the eyewitness testimony of Bourne under adverse conditions, the scenarios
of the battle eld, and that the Anzacs were brave, being not afraid of the enemy. The letter with its
facts and stories is all written in a partial tone excluding patriotism for the reader back in Australia.
It’s featuring on a call at website of the Queensland Government, evidences a story of bravery that
has burnished the self image and identity of Australians.
In the nal analysis, the Gallipoli campaign had contributed to the Australian identity mateship and
bravery. The precious spirits of these soldiers like Simpson, Jacka and Bourne have provided role
models for the younger generation and in uenced many Australians for over 100 years.
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Bibliography
Watt, D. (2017) Anzac Day traditions and rituals: A quick guide, Home – Parliament of Australia.
corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, 2600;
contact=+61 2 6277 7111. Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/
Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1617/Quick_Guides/
TraditionsRituals#:~:text=The%20 rst%20commemorative%20event%20of%20Anzac%20Day%20
is,of%20an%20enemy%20attack%20in%20the%20eerie%20half-light. (Accessed: November 21,
2022).
Bourne, G.H. (1915) Letter of George Herbert Bourne, Anzac 100 initiatives . Available at: https://
anzac100.initiatives.qld.gov.au/remember/letters/assets/george-bourne-transcript.pdf (Accessed:
November 21, 2022).
Donoghue, J. and Tranter, B. (2014) The ANZAC myth and Australian National Identity, E. Available
at: https://www.e-ir.info/2014/05/08/the-anzac-myth-and-australian-national-identity/ (Accessed:
November 21, 2022).
Macquarie Dictionary Blog (2017) Macquarie Dictionary. Macquarie University . Available at:
https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/blog/article/447/ (Accessed: November 21, 2022).
Peter, C. (1987) Simpson and his Donkey, 1915, Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://
www.awm.gov.au/collection/C157185 (Accessed: November 21, 2022).
Rowland, M. (2015) Anzac Albert Jacka: The 'Australian achilles', ABC News. ABC News. Available
at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-23/albert-jacka-the-australian-achilles/6360196
(Accessed: November 21, 2022).