On the 25th of April every year a special event takes place for Australians and New Zealanders – ANZAC Day. It is a national public holiday and a national day of remembrance. For those of you not from Australia or New Zealand, in this post I will explain what ANZAC Day is and it’s relevance to our lives. I will also explain how we celebrate this special day and how I have celebrated it in the past and how I plan to continue to celebrate it in the future.

 

What Does ANZAC Mean?

 

If you are not from Australia or New Zealand, you might be wondering what I am talking about. Here is an overview. What does ANZAC mean? ANZAC means a number of things.

• ANZAC is an acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.
• An ANZAC is an individual, a soldier.
• ANZACs have the ANZAC spirt of mateship. ANZACs were borne during a bloody campaign in World War 1 (WWI). The campaign occurred at Gaba Tepe on the Gelibolu (Gallipoli) Peninsula. Gaba Tepe has been renamed as  ANZAC Cove, located in Gallipoli National Park in Türkiye (nee Turkey).

 

A Quick ANZAC Day History Lesson

 

The Dardenelles is a waterway in Turkey which was used by Russia. During World War I the Allied Forces decided if they held this shipping lane it would cripple Germany’s allies of Turkey and Russia. The Allied Forces decided to send Australian and New Zealand troops to capture the area. At dawn on 25th April 1915 the Australians and New Zealanders were deployed from large warships in small boats to row ashore. What wasn’t expected were tides moving them from their original landing spot. Instead, they came ashore at Gebe Tupe onto a rocky beach with steep cliffs to climb. The Turks were waiting. There was a lot of carnage as the Turks held the high ground so the allied forces had to dig  trenches to hide and live in. And the name diggers for soldiers was borne, as were the ANZACs and the ANZAC spirit of mate ship.

During World War I, the area was scene to some intense battles and during the 9 month Gallipoli campaign there were devastating losses for both Allied and Turkish troops. There are now many cemeteries in the area and it is a site of pilgrimage for Turks, Australians and New Zealanders. And so, on the 25th April every year, Australians and New Zealanders celebrate Anzac Day to commemorate what the soldiers did, fighting for freedom.

Unfortunately, the Gallipoli campaign was a major military failure due to:

• it being a poorly conceived plan
• the difficult terrain and harsh conditions
• interference by politicians including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
• the Turkish resistance was relentless

After the campaign began on 25th April 1915, troops were withdrawn 9th January 1916.

 

Celebrating ANZAC Day

 

ANZAC Day celebrations usually begin before the sun comes up as people get up early to greet the dawn with a dawn service. This time is celebrated as this is when the Australian and New Zealand forces arrived on the shores in Turkey. Services are solemn with prayers. Breakfast is often served afterwards. There are further celebrations during the day with services and marches to cenotaphs. People often head to the RSL (Returned Services League) Clubs or pubs where they play a game called 2 Up – the only day it is legal to play this game in Australia and New Zealand, and enjoy the company of their mates.

 

Two-up on ANZAC Day

 

Two coins on a paddle means Two-up time

 

Two-up is where two coins are placed on a paddle and thrown in the air. People bet on which way the coins will land. Both heads up, both tails up, or with one coin a head and one a tail. It is an illegal game as it is an unregulated form of gambling – except on ANZAC Day because soldiers played the game in the trenches to while away their time when not fighting.

 

Spend ANZAC Day at ANZAC Cove

 

Celebrating Anzac Day is a big deal when you are Australian or a New Zealander. As many of us head to the UK on a working holiday or travel around Europe on holidays, many of us include a visit to ANZAC Cove. If you time your visit right, you can spend ANZAC Day at ANZAC Cove on ANZAC Day at the dawn service. This is what I did. Here is my experience of ANZAC Day at ANZAC Cove.

 

My ANZAC Celebrations – ANZAC Cove 1990

 

I always thought the day was special but I didn’t know how special it was until I actually visited ANZAC Cove for myself. That was way back in 1990, the 75^th Anniversary of the landing, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

On my working holiday in the UK, there was a club for Aussies and Kiwis called ‘The Walkabout Club’. They had organised a 1 week trip to Turkey with the highlight being spending ANZAC Day on ANZAC Cove. I decided to go on this trip that included my airfare, accommodation in Istanbul and transport to and from ANZAC Cove.

 

Re-created trench in Gallipoli National Park

 

My visit to ANZAC Cove began the night before ANZAC Day. There was a rumour that the crowds were beginning to swell at ANZAC Cove, so my tour leader suggested we head there early.

At around 6pm on ANZAC eve, we took the car ferry across the Dardenelles (from Canakkale to Kilitbaher) to ensure we got a spot for the next day. It was only a short ferry journey and the lights of both towns sparkled on the water. As we arrived in the small port on the Gallipoli Peninsula we all laughed when we saw the ”Bob Hawke Bar”. Bob Hawke being the Prime Minister at the time. I am sure the name of this bar changes every time a prime minister changes (if it still exists).

After a quick walk along the Main Street of Kilitbaher, we hopped onto our bus for the drive to ANZAC Cove. The bus ride was bumpy and windy and thankfully did not take long. This was because there were many buses and cars and people lining the road and we were unable to drive further. We were advised to hop out of the bus and walk with the rest of the crowds, so we did, in the dark. And we walked not knowing where we were going.

Soon we found where the dawn service was being held. It was a stage set up close to the beach. And soon we found ourselves on the beach behind this area. Here, we waited in minimal light – it was about 10pm. Eight hours or so to go before the dawn service was to start.

I spent the night on the beach with my travelling friends on the same tour. We chatted and laughed, some drank and others slept. It was a starry night with a large moon but it was dark – the only light was coming from the broadcast tower and it was quite cold.  There was a slight breeze making it colder and gentle waves were rolling on to the pebbly shore. Peering through the darkness I pictured our boys (the young soldiers) off-shore, in 1915, drifting in their boats, waiting quietly to land. Just visible was the HMAS Tobruk, an Australian warship, which was anchored offshore and had a kangaroo shining brightly on her side. There were lights from other sea faring vessels. Now at 1.00am the atmosphere was electric as we waited in anticipation of the events to come.

 

ANZAC Day Dawn Service

 

After the Dawn Service everyone dispersed

 

Around 4am the 47 soldiers from the 1915 campaign began to arrive. The soldiers from the ANZAC campaign that were still alive were invited, but only these 47 came back to honour their mates. Each of them wearing their commemorative green blazers with their medals and they were led by a soldier from today’s armed services. Some were frail and in wheelchairs, a couple carried oxygen bottles but nothing seemed like it would stop them coming to salute their fallen mates. Each digger was greeted with cheers, applause and warm wishes of “Good on ya mate” and tears from the crowd

Then the dignitaries began to arrive. The Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke arrived first in a blaze of lights and camera flashes. He was followed by the New Zealand Governor General, Sir Paul Reeves and the Turkish President whose name escapes me.

The formalities of the dawn service began in darkness as it normally does before dawn breaks. There were speeches by the dignitaries and the huge crowd joined in singing the hymns and national anthems of Australia and New Zealand. There could have been the Turkish anthem also but I cannot remember. It finished with dawn breaking to the Last Post and the reciting of the ‘Ode’.

“They shall not grow old…we will remember them, Lest we forget”.

As the ceremony concluded, the Sphinx that protrudes from the mountain face, which the Turks used as a lookout, glared down upon us. The terrain was now visible. The vastness and harshness of the scrub covered cliff faces – those cliff faces that were the bane of the land. Turkish soldiers, rifles in hand, were guarding these hills. This time though, they just wanted to have their photo taken with us.

 

The Sphinx looking over us as dawn broke

 

Trying to absorb my surroundings, in particular the steep terrain of the area, I could imagine Simpson walking down the hill with his donkey. Were those gunshots I could hear? Were the distant, still apparent trenches housing men eating their bully beef or lighting cigarettes? No, they were full of travelling Aussies, Kiwis, Brits and Turkish who had come to pay their respects.

It was surreal, the peacefulness engulfing me and the crowd. Seeing ANZAC Cove really makes you understand what the Diggers did for us. The best tribute of all, epitomising the feeling of the area, is that of the Turkish leader Ataturk, immortalised on a stone memorial at the north face of the cove.

 

“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives…
You are now lying on the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnie and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side.
Here in this country of ours…
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries
Wipe away your tears,
Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.
After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”

Ataturk 1934

 

Lone Pine Cemetery

 

The crowds dispersed after the dawn ceremony. They went to other areas of the Gallipoli National Park, as there are a number of historical battle sites. My tour group firstly went to the International Ceremony being held up at Cape Helles overlooking the entrance to the Dardenelles. There was a lot of music performed by British and Turkish troops plus beautiful words for the fallen.

Next, it was to the Lone Pine Cemetery which is the furthest point the Aussies reached during the campaign. The area witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting and seven Victoria Crosses were won here. Now, the rows of white headstones are guarded by pine trees. And on the 75^thanniversary there was a special memorial service which I attended. Once again, we listened to what the soldiers had done for us and remembered this special day.

 

Walking around Lone Pine

 

After the Lone Pine ceremony, I walked around the grave headstones, like many others did. It is such a peaceful place now. In the distance you could see over ANZAC Cove and other beaches like Suvla Beach – another place of significant warfare. As my day in Gallipoli came to an end our bus headed back to Kilitbaher so we could catch the ferry to Canakkale. And on to other areas in Turkey to enjoy.

 

How I spend ANZAC Day since I visited ANZAC Cove

 

Seeing and experiencing ANZAC Day at ANZAC Cove gave me a new perspective on ANZAC Day. And every year I celebrate it. I might attend a dawn service or a mid-morning service, or watch services on television. In my hand I will be holding my pebble I picked up while waiting on the beach for the dawn service. It is one of my prize possessions from my travels. After any service, I sometimes visit an RSL for a meal and a drink and sometimes partake in Two-up. But whatever I do on ANZAC Day, one thing never changes, I always remember.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, I joined the many people in the ‘Light Up the Street’. As we couldn’t attend dawn services, people lit a candle or held a light just before dawn at the end of their drive way.

 

Always Remembering on ANZAC Day

 

Finally, if you are travelling in Europe I would highly recommend including a visit to ANZAC Cove in your itinerary. It doesn’t have to be on the 25^thof April because the area, now a national park, The Gelibolu National Park, will be open. I can tell you, for me, a visit to ANZAC Cove was a highlight of my travels.

 

Organise your trip to ANZAC Cove and Gallipoli