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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-03 Daily Xml
Contents
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Motions

ANZAC Day

The Hon. L.A. HENDERSON (17:54): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges that ANZAC Day was commemorated on 25 April 2023;

2. Pays its respects to the families of those ANZACs who tragically lost their lives during the capture of the Gallipoli Peninsula; and

3. Remembers all Australian personnel and animals who have been injured or killed in action.

ANZAC Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during World War I. Tuesday 25 April, ANZAC Day, marked the 108th anniversary of Australian and New Zealand forces landing on Gallipoli, where they were met with fierce resistance from Ottoman Turkish defenders.

When the war began, Australia as a federation was young, having only been federated for 13 years in 1914. Come 1915, thousands of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles for the Allied navies.

It was hoped that this would knock Turkey out of the war, but it quickly became a stalemate and the campaign dragged on for eight months. Both sides suffered casualties and great hardships during this time. At the end of 1915, the stalemate finally ended when the Allied forces evacuated from the peninsula. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice in the Gallipoli campaign.

Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the actions of Australian and New Zealand forces during the campaign left a powerful legacy. Gallipoli, understandably, had a profound impact on Australians at home. What became known as the ANZAC legend became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the way in which we view both our past and our future.

The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and the soldiers in those forces took great pride in the name of the ANZACs. The marking of ANZAC Day each year allows for that pride to endure. During the 1920s, ANZAC Day became established as a national day of commemoration for more than 60,000 Australians who had died during the war.

Later, ANZAC Day also served to commemorate the lives of Australians who died in the Second World War, and in subsequent years the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include those who lost their lives in all military and peacekeeping operations in which Australia has been involved. It allows us as a nation to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, those who were injured and those who maybe did not come back the same person they had left as in order to defend our nation and the freedoms we are fortunate to have.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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