ANZAC's Day

ANZAC's day is one of the most important holidays in Australia. That's how it seems in the Melbourne area. Traditional celebrations include a dawn memorial service followed by a parade of proud veterans cheered on by a patriotic crowd. Later in the day you drink beer and play 2-up - the only day of the year you allowed to publicly gamble in honor of the game that amused troops in the trenches of WWI. In Melbourne, it's tradition to watch the ANZACs Day game between the oldest Melbourne Footy clubs: Essendon and Collingworth.

Gallipoli is generally the focus of the celebration. I'm sorry to say that everything I know about Gallipoli I learned from Mel Gibson so I was glad to have this close-up look at why a war America acknowledges as little more than a build-up to the Big One is the focus of the Australian version of Memorial Day.

I discovered that WWI was the turning point in Australian-ism. April 25th is the anniversary of the first major military action of Australian and New Zealand forces when they landed on the shores of Gallipoli, Turkey in 1914.

They fought for the first time as Australians and New Zealanders instead of as British subjects, though it seems that was under some contention. I'm still watching the ANZAC's TV series, which portrays the older generations still toasting to the Queen and Empire before toasting to their home country so recently freed from the title of "colony". This did not sit well with the younger generations who were summoned to fight a war started by family bickering in far away Europe.

Also interesting: the states finally came together under one flag. Instead of considering themselves Victorians or Queenslanders, they were simply Australian. (The more I learn here the more my theory that Australia is just like the US only slightly behind the times gets more steam. I should learn more about Canada, which I've been told has a closer culture, before I solidify that judgment. That's a different story...)

I heard one lead-up-to-ANZACs news report say there were efforts this year to focus on other notable Australian military feats besides WWI. I can't say they were very successful. But the efforts may be an indication of future focuses as the Great War slips farther into the past and the heroes of later years become more precious.

I made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne to mark the special day. That's me above with my new ANZACs pin I would wear to work later that night (their boys fight besides mine - isn't that enough of a reason to represent?) with the shrine in the background.

One of my big objectives of the day was to get a proper red poppy. I failed in that, but instead I made a contribution to the ANZACs Appeal and got the pin with the cool one-side-flipped-up Aussie military hat; a digger's hat, I believe they would call it. I purchased it from the ladies in WWI period Red Cross uniforms who were collecting donations out of the horse drawn ambulance (complete with wounded soldiers).

When I caught sight of him in the crowd, the gentleman pictured below instantly became my hero of the day. I can't imagine how he managed to stand through all the parading and speeches. That's dedication.

Hero of the day.

The Shrine of Remembrance in Military dress.
The Governor and Leader of the Opposition in attendance.

The next thing on my ANZACs To Do list was watch a bit of the game before heading back to Geelong. I passed through the outskirts of the Royal Botanical Gardens. Isn't it pretty?

...and past Federation Square, which is the culture rich dining, shopping, and entertainment center of the city. It's a pretty funky place and known as the "meeting place". If I was a city local, this is were I'd hang out on a relaxing Sunday afternoon with my coffee in hand. Did you know Melbourne makes the best coffee in the world?

Cool buildings and trams at Federation Square.

Pomp hatted buggy drivers pass Federation Square.

Anyway, I grabbed a beer and bowl of wedges and watched the first quarter of the ANZACs clash before heading back to town and to work. Not a bad first ANZACs day. I did miss out on 2-up, but I'm a terrible gambler anyway.