Talk:Anzac Day/Archive 1

ANZAC acronym and capitalisation
Hi, i am living in Turkey and i am interested in War History. I have attended the past 6 DawnServices at Gallipoli. I have added a picture today and i fixed the grey lines between the articles. About the acronym - Its official to capitalize the word ANZAC. user:olympos2

Some thoughts - personally think there should be a consistency of capitalisation - ANZAC is an acronym and should be capitalised. - Thoughts, anyone? - User:MMGB

I assumed that it ought to be capitalised, because of the acronym status - it's not a complete word but an abbreviation. But I see that somebody disagreed - I just spent two hours writing an article that I thought was needed, when a non-capitalised version apparantly existed already :( (whimper) The only aspect I was uncertain of was whether Day should have a capital or not... KJ

Karen - take that as your "official" welcome to the 'pedia :) I think that's happened to all of us at one point or another. Inconsistency abounds here, sadly. It's always a good idea to run a search before you tackle a new topic - just because it appears in red doesn't mean it doesn't exist. However on the bright side - what you have added is extremely valuable, and was absent from the original. The final article will be all the better as a result. Regards - User:MMGB

I always understood that the acronym 'Anzac' had long ago ceased to be capitalised in ordinary usage (like 'laser' or 'scuba', the two examples in Acronym), and that ANZAC was generally used to refer to older usage. I'll see if I can't find some Australian government or military style guide on this. -- Perey 18:13, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * The Australian War Memorial seems to be one of the few sites consistent in any degree&mdash;using 'ANZAC' for all references to the day and the soldiers. But 'Anzac' seems to be near-universal for such things as geographical names (e.g. Anzac Cove). -- Perey 18:40, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * Bean uses "ANZAC" for the army corps and "Anzac" for everything else ("Anzac sector", "Anzac Cove", "Anzac Beach", "Anzac Gully", etc.) Also, it's HMAS Anzac, not "HMAS ANZAC".  I don't know why it is capitalised in "ANZAC Day" but if the AWM use it, that's fine with me.  Geoff/Gsl 22:12, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * For New Zealand it should be 'Anzac Day' - see the original New Zealand Gazette notice here: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/anzac-day-gazette-notice-1916 - Our site only uses 'ANZAC" to refer to the actual corps - eg veterans of the II ANZAC Battalion marched on Anzac Day. Australia seems to use caps though, so maybe this just requires an explanation in the New Zealand section? Jamie Mackay 07:21, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

no —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.36.3 (talk • contribs) 04:50, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Ausinfo pronouncement
According to the Australian Government Department of Finance and Adminstration (which is apparently abbreviated "Ausinfo") Style Manual, acronyms should not be capitalized. Paragraph 7.7 (fifth edition) starts:


 * An acronym is a shortened form that is always pronounced as a word. It may be formed from the initial letters of other words:


 * Anzac (from Australian and New Zealand Army Corps)

Based on that, it seems clear that the correct spelling is Anzac, not ANZAC. I propose to change this some time after 25 April 2008 unless somebody comes up with convincing reasons to the contrary. Groogle (talk) 04:39, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


 * From my understanding, it used to be ANZAC, but now there is a move away from that. The Australian Government Department of Finance and Adminstration are not the authority; some government departments in both NZ and OZ use either (but as mentioned, there is a move towards Anzac) Matt (talk) 08:44, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Just found this: http://www.anzacs.org/faq.html Matt (talk) 08:50, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


 * As quoted in the article on the reference you cited, arguably the original term was "Anzac" when referring to concepts/places, rather than the actual army corps (which was always written "ANZAC"). I have been uncomfortable for quite a while seeing "ANZAC Day" written like that - it doesn't fit in with what to me was common usage. Seeing that the Australian legislation here protects the term "Anzac Day", as does the New Zealand legislation here, I would support a change away from the acronym "ANZAC" to the noun "Anzac" PalawanOz (talk) 09:43, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

More
To say that 'Anzac' should always be spelled in full capitals ignores both the rules of English grammar and the word's historical usage. Insisting that the word should always be capitalised is implying that everybody in the past - including the Anzacs themselves - used the term incorrectly.

The full capitalisation is fine so long as it is actually the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - that is, the army formation - being referred to. However, when 'Anzac' is used as a proper noun, as in 'Anzac Cove', 'Anzac Day', or 'the Anzacs', the word does not refer to the army formation but forms one of the other six uses of the term as identified by Dr. Charles Bean in the Official History of Australia in World War 1.

The following definitions of the word 'Anzac' are from the Australian World War One Official Historian, Dr. Charles Bean. (Bean, C.E.W. The Official History of Australia In The War of 1914 - 1918 Vol 1. The Story Of Anzac p 609). [I have not changed any of the capitalisation from the original].

[quote]

(1) Originally, code name for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (see p. 124) ;

(2) Name given to the beach where the A. & N.Z. Army Corps landed on Gallipoli;

(3) Official name of the two A. & N.Z. Army Corps in France (1st Anzac Corps, 2nd Anzac Corps) ;

(4) Term universally applied by British troops in France to the Australians and New Zealanders of the two Anzac Corps (the Anzacs);

(5) In Palestine, often used to denote men of the Anzac Mounted Division as distinguished from those of the Australian Mounted Division;

(6) In Australia (and eventually in the A.I.F.), used to denote Australians and New Zealanders who served on Gallipoli.

The generally accepted uses of the term are (1), (2), (3), and (6).

[end quote]

Clearly Bean has indicated that while originally the term ANZAC was, as is well known, a short-hand way of referring to the actual army corps, a new word - 'Anzac' - sprang from this which almost immediately evolved to have different meanings and uses.

Most authors since 1915 have used the proper noun 'Anzacs' or 'Anzac' to refer to the troops, the sector of Gallipoli and the actual cove. To suggest, more than 90 years later, that each and every one of these writers used the term incorrectly because they did not entirely capitalise it is arrogance.

Consider exactly who used or uses the noun 'Anzac' :

The official Australian historian, Dr. Charles Bean;

The official British and New Zealand historians;

The Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in their official documents;

Those who wrote articles for the RSL in Reveille and other returned servicemen's magazines;

Those who wrote the unit histories (Australian, New Zealand and English);

Those that have written for the Australian War Memorial's Journal; the Gallipolian magazine; the Army Journal; the Defence Force Journal; the New Zealand Defence Quarterly and others.

Other authors on the subject (including French, Americans, Canadians and Turks);

All the newspapers of the day;

The Macquarie, Oxford and Collins dictionaries;

The compilers of the Imperial War Graves Commission's cemetery registers.

ALL used 'Anzac' when referring to the place, the holiday, or the men. They did not fully capitalise the proper noun because not only would that be an incorrect use of the term, it would also be incorrect use of basic grammar.

Almost every writer since 1915 has accepted that the word has different facets representing different concepts, that it is a word - a proper noun (or in some cases an adjective) - and we all (should) know that neither a proper noun nor an adjective is ever entirely capitalised.

Fully-capitalised acronyms may be used as words in order to avoid confusion with a word of the same spelling and pronunciation if that word already exists (for example PIN or AIDS - both these words - 'pin' and 'aids' already existed, so retaining the capitalisation for the new acronym helps avoid confusion). Obviously this is not the case with 'Anzac'. The word was invented in 1915, so there was no chance of confusion with an already-existing word (other examples of acronyms which evolved into nouns in the same way are 'Qantas', 'Fiat', 'scuba', 'laser' and 'radar'). The fully-capitalised acronym ANZAC refers only to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It should not be used when referring to the sector at Gallipoli (the Anzac sector), the soldiers (the Anzacs), the name of the cove (Anzac Cove), the national holiday in Australia and New Zealand (Anzac Day), and it should not be used when writing of the Campaign Honours 'Landing at Anzac', 'Defence of Anzac' and 'Withdrawal from Anzac'.

To fully capitalise 'Anzac' in any of these cases is both historically and grammatically incorrect. 'Anzac' for the place, the holiday, and the soldier, is how almost every writer has used it since 1915.

From Hart's Rules, Oxford University Press 1983: "As a general rule, abbreviations and contractions should be followed by a full point unless the shortened form consists [entirely] of upper-case initials or is a recognized acronym pronounced as a single word: thus print BBC, HMS, OUP, PAYE, PLC, SDP, SPCK, TUC, WEA; Anzac, Aslib, Fiat, Naafi (or NAAFI). Abbreviations and contractions consisting of a mixture of upper and lower case take full points, as in I.o.W. (Isle of Wight), Bt. (Baronet), Kt. (Knight), Ltd. (Limited), St. (Street), and university degrees (D.Litt., D.Phil., Ph.D., etc.); exceptions to be made for Dr (Doctor), Revd (Reverend; not Rev), Mr, Mrs, Mme, Mlle, St (Saint); here full points are not required."

As far as I'm aware, it is beyond the scope of any institution to make it 'official' to fully-capitalise *any* word in the English language, much less one that has been, since its inception in 1915, not fully-capitalised. I have also attended Dawn Services in Gallipoli, but that has no bearing on whether 'Anzac' should be fully-capitalised. The fact that the Australian War Memorial does so is, according to its Director, an 'editorial' decision. The fact that the AWM never used to fully-capitalise the word, before the tenure of the current Director, is easily proven, and the fact that one or two institutions have taken it upon themselves to decide to fully-capitalise the noun does not make it either 'official' or universally-accepted.

I'm with Groogle on this in that, unless there are convincing arguments from someone to the contrary (not just. 'the AWM does it'), then the occurrences of the word in articles should be changed back to how it was used by the people who were actually there, and who knew better than those today. Hayaman (talk) 11:43, 2 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Since there seems to be broad agreement (at least by the editors on this Talk Page), I would propose to change this article on Saturday 05 April 2008. This page will obviously get a lot more traffic in the lead up to Anzac Day this year, so would like to make the pages sooner rather than later. So if there are any last objections, please list them here prior to Saturday. PalawanOz (talk) 12:47, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Death toll
Reading the article, one might be forgiven for thinking that only Anzacs died at Gallipoli. (On the other hand, most Australians do think that.)

In absolute terms, more Brits than Australians died, and more Turks than Brits died.

Relative to population, the Australian and NZ death toll was a lot higher.

From Battle of Gallipoli

Gallipoli casualties(Died 	Wounded 	Total)

Australia 	8,709 	19,441 	28,150 New Zealand 	2,701 	4,852 	7,553 Britain 	21,255 	52,230 	73,485 France (estimated) 	10,000 	17,000 	27,000 India 	1,358 	3,421 	4,779 Newfoundland 	49 	93 	142 Total Allies 	44,072 	97,037 	141,109

Ottoman Empire 	86,692 	164,617 	251,309

Total Dead and Wounded - nearly half a million men! And for what?! Nothing!


 * Over WWI in total, NZ had the highest casualty rate as percentage of population of any participant country.Aistralia had the highest casualty rate as a percentage of its military establishment. dramatic 17:06, 13 May 2005 (UTC)
 * This isn't true. Depending on whether you count civilian deaths and just those injured, France, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Romania, Italy and Bulgaria all had higher rates per population. Evil Monkey - Hello 04:58, 8 May 2006 (UTC)
 * NZ had the higest out of the Commonwealth I think Brian | (Talk) 05:32, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Kokoda Trail
Is it worth mentioning that there is an increasing push to refocus commemerations on the Kokoda Trail?

Reasons for:

1. Gallipoli was someone else's war, largely irrelevant to Australia, and we lost.

2. Kokoda was very much our war, very important to Australia, and we won.

On this standard lefty-pacifist mythology that "Gallipoli was all for nothing and was someone else's war" I recommend Gerard Henderson's comment here. In fact the Gallipoli campaign was strategically a brilliant idea, unfortunately not followed through with proper resources or planning. Both my grandfathers were patriotic Australians, both fought in World War I (one of them at Gallipoli), and both maintained to their dying day that it was a war well worth fighting and winning. Adam 07:55, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

- Yup. Seen that article.

The idea to attack at Gallipoli was sound (brilliant is probably stretching the adjective). But for good and bad reasons the attack failed, and it was obvious that it had failed, and should have been aborted a long time before it was. Even Gerard Henderson says it was 'doomed' and 'could never succeed'.

As was, 150,000 allied casualties, most of whom died long after it was obvious that the attack had failed.

Like Iraq, participating in WW1 might have had some value as an insurance payment to a major power, (maybe) but it was never vital to Australia in the way that Kokoda was.

I think you are missing the point. The Gallipoli landings are important because they were the first time Australians fought together as fellow nationals under their own flag. That's the unique thing about it.

The article ought to mention this fact actually.

Please sign your contributions. Adam 08:32, 11 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Right or wrong, 'lefty pacifist mythology' or not, if this is a significant body of opinion then it merits mention. I'm not convinced it is, though. -- Perey 16:40, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

The view that Gallipoli achieved nothing is widespread, probably dominant. The standard belief is that the Australian solders were brilliant but that victory was denied us by the incompetence of the British officers. (We sometimes remember the Kiwis, though not this year. We almost never acknowledge that there were more British troops than Australians.)

Holding that view isn't incompatible with seeing Gallipoli as somehow more special than any other Australian battle, which is almost certainly the predominant view - we honour their sacrifice, not their achievements.

I cannot put a size to it, but there is a significant, probably lefty, possibly pacifist, body of opinion that belives that we should accord at least equal honour to those who fought successfuly defending Australia. --BenA 08:23, 13 May 2005 (UTC)

PS. A google search for "Gallipoli Kokoda" returns 6130 hits, many of them on this theme. See for yourself

1. Gallipoli was not a 'war'. It was a campaign. 'We' won the war. It was not 'irrelevant' to Australia, as the majority of people then wholeheartedly supported the idea of Empire and believed that England's wars were their wars. The fact that most people no longer think that way NOW is no reason to conclude irrelevance to Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, Newfoundlanders, etc. THEN.

There was more than one phase to the Gallipoli campaign. To state that most casualties occurred after it was already known to be a failure is opinion, and not borne out by the facts. The Allies still believed they could push through up until the end of August 1915. It was then they realised they were not going to be able to break through. Relatively few casualties occurred after August 1915.

2. Kokoda was not a war either. Throwing what-should-be precise terms about regardless of their actual meaning never inspires confidence in an author's point of view.

Having said that, I see no reason not to commemorate Kokoda, but believe that already falls under Anzac Day. Hayaman (talk) 20:55, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

International Anzac conferences
I feel the recent text added by the user from IP 85.104.142.221 to the article on ANZAC Day is not strictly relevant to the article itself. I suggested a separate article on the subject of the conferences with a link on the ANZAC day page to see also. However, there are issues about linkspam and articles on future events. Any such article will be reviewed as to whether the content is encyclopaedic and appropriate for Wikipedia. See What Wikipedia is not for further info - particularly:


 * Wikipedia is not a propaganda machine - "While you are free to write about yourself or projects you have a strong personal involvement in, remember that the standards for encyclopedic articles apply to such pages just like any other."
 * Wikipedia is not a free host or webspace provider
 * All articles about future events must be verifiable, and the subject matter must be of sufficiently wide interest that it would merit an article if the event had already occurred. In particular: Individual scheduled or expected future events should only be included if the event is notable and almost certain to take place.

When I went to the link provided at www.knowledgesocieties.org I got an error message. I have judged the material at present to not be worthy of a separate article and certianly not appropriate for this article.--A Y  Arktos 22:40, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

JUST A NOTE: IT WOULD BE NICE IF THIS PAGE WAS NOT SO FOCUSED ON AUSTRALIA. I AM AUSTRALIAN MYSELF AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME NEW ZEALAND IMPUT AS THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT DAY OR BOTH OF OUR NATIONS. THANKYOU.

ANZAC Day in Australia
This is all my POV, but is it worth making a point of the recent "latching on" of commercial interest to ANZAC day and it being purported in the press as more of a national day than Australia day? Because in my opinion it is not. I am a second generation Australian (3 British grandparents who fought in World War 2) and feel zero affinity to ANZAC day - I know more people who should be celebrating VE day than ANZAC by virtue of ancestry. I honestly think it is a shame that instituations such as the AFL play The Last Post on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday etc before games on the weekend of ANZAC day, not to mention the Collingwood/Essendon thing. ANZAC day, sadly in my opinion, has become a festival. Should more be made of this without the article becoming too weaselly? Ian peters 11:11, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * How would you approach that POV in the article and is it a verifiable and notable POV? I don't see how popularity should necessarily imply commercialim or festivity -- my POV is that people who make those accusations about Anzac Day don't understand its popularity and so have to concoct these ideas to explain it to themselves. Though I do agree that some sickening examples of commercial exploitation exist, for example McDonalds Anzac "Cookies" --Russell E 11:49, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm not saying you can, but then again, line such as "... many Australians have now come to regard ANZAC Day as the true national day ... the national identity of Australia was largely forged during World War 1 ... the most iconic event in the war for most Australians was the landing at Gallipoli." strike me as quite POV, and somewhat weaselly.  In discussing the commercial exploitation, I would cite the AFL promoting their ANZAC round with heavy ANZAC emphasis such as The Last Post played before tonight's game (21st April).  The main point is I don't think enough migrant Australians (1st generation and 2nd generation such as me) identify with ANZAC day for the above comments to remain in the article. I fear ANZAC day is becoming as untouchable as the issue of Jewish influence in the US.  Thus I would propose replacing the 2nd paragraph with something like this (a little devils advocate here):
 * ANZAC Day has grown in recognition in recent years, and is regarded by some Australians as more important than Australia Day. This is somewhat unusual, as the day commemorates Australia's worst war catstrophe, and more generally the service of Australians in wars past. However many Australians have no Australian ancestors who have been to war for Australia, and therefore lack anything more than an altruistic reason for commemorating the loss and sacrifice of others unknown to them. In recent years, the commemoration at Galipoli in Turkey has grown in popularity, particularly for young Australians and sporting teams heading to Europe. The threat of a terrorist attack at the Gallipoli site in 2004 did not deter some 15,000 Australians from attending the event. Ian peters 12:13, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I'd support such a rewording. I'm surprised that the article contains no reference to the origins of the parade in the protests of WWI vets about their treatment on returning to Australia. &#0151; JEREMY 10:39, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Do you think it's worth mentioning in that paragraph how ANZAC Day is not only a commemoration for our lost ANZACs but also as a day for recognising our currently serving troops? I think there has always been that underlying message on ANZAC Day. But others may see it differently. (Prof. Alex 00:39, 25 April 2006 (UTC))
 * It seems to have become a "Current Servicepeople's Day", certainly. I think the History section of the article should address this shift in emphasis, as it's an important aspect of what might seen as the politicisation of the event. &#0151; JEREMY 03:42, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

After last years commemorations at Anzac Cove were a bit of a party, this years one was much more sombre. They banned alcohol and there wasn't a concert. I know that in NZ ANZAC Day is not considered any form of heroic celebration like the descriptions I've read above (about Australia). With the change in attitude at the Anzac Cove commemorations is the last sentence under the Australian heading any longer correct? If it is, I do think it should be referenced, surely if the statement was true then there would be a citable media comment agreeing with it. - Shudda 17:59, 27 April 2006)

Australia's 'worst war catastrophe'? Anzac Day is held on the day of the initial Allied landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula, but to state that this was "Australia's worst war catastrophe" is conjecture and many would not agree. Over the eight months from the Landing till the Evacuation, Australia lost around 8000 soldiers killed. Many more died on the Western Front over the same time period. When Anzac Day was first being formalised, it WAS regarded by many as Australia's National Day. 'Australia Day' was not proclaimed until 1946. Hayaman (talk) 06:16, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Christian nature of dawn service
I attended the dawn service this year at the AWM, I was surprised at how Christian the service was (Hymns, prayers, most of the speakers were defence force chaplins etc.) is this the same everywhere in Australia? How about New Zealand? Should the christian tone of the commomeration be mentioned in the article?--nixie 05:44, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
 * In earlier times a Christian service would be expected, its disappointing that now it is seen as a surprise. Most soldiers who died were members of churches, buried in church grounds, had monuments built on church land by the congregations who mourned their members' loss. Not to mention higher levels of religiosity in that era from which those soldiers are from. michael talk 06:21, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I normally attend the Albany dawn service, and it strikes me as half Christian service, half military service. Yes, it has the hymns and prayers. Yes, it also has salutes, flag raising and lowering and lots of military bigwigs. (Maybe we get less chaplins and more Officers simply because it's Albany) I don't think it really needs to be added though. Morgrim 11:05, 3 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Its important to note that Defence Chaplains are typically Christian, but are trained to be generic and fairly non-denomonational for occaisions such as ANZAC day. It is true that most memorial services are generally Christian, this represents their majority representation in most of NZ, and it is also true that the Defence Force have a key role to play, as those responsible for upholding the ANZAC Traditions.  But most services I have attended include a couple of simple hymns, an address by either a returned serviceman or an NZDF member on the theme of ANZAC day, the laying of wreaths and some form of salute.  (And the parade itself, the march led by the services.).    I think that those who don't particularly care for the Christian aspect (I am not an active Christian myself) can still see past the detail, to the respectful nature of the remembrance. I can't speak for every service, of course, but this mornings that I attended in NZ was quite appropriate, I thought. BlakJakNZ 23:11, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

It is also important to note that in New Zealand we don't refer to a Dawn Service, but rather a Dawn Parade, it is much more secular and the chaplins are nowhere near as prominent in their role. I first attended an Australian style Service a few years ago in Jakarta and I was a little bit unnerved by the heavy religious slant as compared to the NZ Dawn Parade, which I attended every year when at home in NZ. So I think the article should reflect this major difference. gcaisle 124.109.11.216 (talk) 06:33, 25 April 2012 (UTC) eg: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/last-post-first-light/anzac-day-2012/6803852/Thousands-attend-Anzac-Day-dawn-parades

Gallipoli --> Gallipoli, Turkey
There is a Requested move to move the page Gallipoli to Gallipoli, Turkey because there is a Gallipoli, Italy. If you would like to express an opinion on this proposed move please follow the link to Talk:Gallipoli --Philip Baird Shearer 15:32, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Popular Culture links
Wouldn't it be valuable to readers to add the links to these movie and documentary about Gallipoli?

Gallipoli (2005) http://imdb.com/title/tt0450426/ Gallipoli (1981) http://imdb.com/title/tt0082432/

J. Cheah — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.48.50.150 (talk • contribs) 05:13, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Poppies??
No mention that everyone wears poppys?
 * They don't, they wear poppies. GrahamBould 17:50, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Actually, they don't wear poppies either. That's Rememberance Day. Iorek85 00:23, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes they do, at least in New Zealand. --antilivedT 01:01, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

They wear rosemary in Australia, though the article doesn't mention it. I remember being taught that this was because of the rosemary growing on the shores of Gallipoli, but a look at the wiki page for rosemary says that it's often used for remembrance. Any sources either way? Okay, I guess there's this- http://www.defence.gov.au/anzacday/history.htm, which says both facts are true.DrHacky 15:39, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I did a quick search of rosemary for Anzac day in NZ. It barely rates a mention. On the GG's and govt web sites there is no mention of it. I must admit, despite being an Aussie who has had a large military involvement with Anzac day, rosemary hasn't really been a thing that i knew of. 09:35, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Poppies - New Zealand unique
''In contrast to the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, however, the RSA did not hold its inaugural Poppy Appeal in association with Armistice Day 1921 (11 November 1921), but instead chose the day prior to ANZAC Day 1922. The reason is one of those quirks of history: the ship carrying the poppies from France arrived in New Zealand too late for the scheme to be properly publicised prior to Armistice Day, thereby forcing the Association to postpone its Poppy campaign until the day prior to ANZAC Day 1922. The decision nonetheless established an historic precedence whereby Poppy Day – as the day was known from the outset – became forever associated with ANZAC Day in New Zealand, thus setting it apart from the rest of the world where it is largely associated with Armistice Day.'' Ozdaren 09:56, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Bias towards Australia
I just read this article and it seems to be rather bias towards Australia. Could New Zealand have more of a feature in this article? After all, what does the NZ in ANZAC stand for? Will try and get some images of the service in Wellington tomorrow.-- HamedogTalk|@ 05:33, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I added a little more detail for NZ today. BlakJakNZ 23:14, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


 * 4 Years on and nothing's changed... it is very disappointing that something that should be equal is written from such an Australian POV. 124.198.170.3 (talk) 14:03, 24 April 2011 (UTC)


 * WP:SOFIXIT - with appropriate citations etc. (Disclosure: I'm an Australian, with only a few relatively minor contributions to this article. I'm not familiar enough with the article to judge its POV.) Mitch Ames (talk) 15:53, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

"Troop review" image caption
Are these people Pathfinders or Scouts and should this be said instead of just Troop review on the image caption. Ans e ll 01:47, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I think they are Pathfinders and I don't see any relevance to the topic other than this may have been on an ANZAC day. I suggest getting rid of the image entirely. Brettr 02:37, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I took this pic. I don't know if they are pathfinder, scouts or whatever. Of course this is not troops, no army in Cook Islands, even if Cook islanders were enrolled in the ANZAC (probably in the Maori battallion, see ). In fact, it was the end of the ceremony, I missed most of it, woke up too late. Anyway, it was to show that the ANZAC day is not only commemorated in Australia and New Zealand. If you prefer, there is also this pic, not a very good quality, captured from a DV camera too :) Nevers
 * They look like boys brigade or similar. Ozdaren (talk) 11:52, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

Memorial for other wars too
The first paragraph of the article makes it sound like Anzac day is only about remembering those involved with the Gallipoli landing. The day is actually about remembering those who have fought in any war. GK1 15:29, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
 * So, we have two days of rememberance (three if you count Reserves Day); April 25th and November 11. I was inclined to think November 11 is the day that "is actually about remembering those who have fought in any war." Wikiphyte 03:31, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree, ANZAC day is not just about Gallipoli landing, its all wars and conflicts. Brian | (Talk) 09:09, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Gee guys, I dunno... reading the article, it seems clear enough: "ANZAC Day - 25 April - marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War." ..."They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April,...

" Whilst I agree the sentiment of ANZAC Day is definately in support of all of those who have fought in any war, the foundation of ANZAC Day is indeed the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landing at Gallipolli. That can't be denied.  Over time its meaning has changed but that doesn't change its origins nor its focus.  (This is reflected by the words of the speakers that I heard at this years local ANZAC Service.) BlakJakNZ 06:29, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

I totally agree. Anzac Day began as a remembrance of those who had fought at Gallipoli but has come to be a day of thanks for all those Australians who fought in conflicts. It is now the national day of remembrance, Nov 11 has become relatively un-important. We all used to stop and remember at 11am on 11/11 and do the minute of silence in my school and early work days. Nowaydays (sorrowfully) it is largely ignored. Anzac (Not ANZAC... that's the unit) Day has replaced it in the national psyche. Simmons001 (talk) 06:25, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

ANZAC Day football
What happened to the ANZAC day football game photo? Ozdaren 23:55, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * From memory, I think that photo may have had a copyright issue - I cant remember how it was tagged, but I remember when it first got posted that I wasn't sure that it was all that kosher. As a side note if you end up re-loading it, I thought it was too big on the page... however if you reduced it in size, you would really lose sight of the players - so perhaps not the best pic in the first place for this article? PalawanOz 00:54, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I agreee about it's size. I was going to reduce it on the page. I'll try to get the AFL or RSL to give me a photo to use. Ozdaren 02:51, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Surely someone who was there would have been able to take a photo. If I can get tickets next year (and that is a very big IF), then I'll take a camera along.  --Spewmaster 02:09, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

The ANZAC Medal in the AFL game is not awarded to the "best on ground". I have corrected this.Njb1969 (talk) 12:53, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Essay in Australian Literary Review
Yesterday's Australian Literary Review liftout in The Australian had an interesting essay on ANZAC Day with some choice quotes. Hesperian 02:54, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Please mention the annual Anzac Day in Turkey
On Anzac Day in 1985, the name "Anzac Cove" was officially recognised by the Turkish government. The Anzac Day dawn service was held at Ari Burnu Cemetery within the cove until 1999 when the number of people attending outgrew the site. A purpose built "Anzac Commemorative Site" was constructed nearby on North Beach in time for the 2000 service. --134.155.99.41 14:39, 27 July 2007 (UTC) I just did it and hope it was ok. Greetings from a descendant of a Turkish Mehmetçik. :-)

Criticisms - and then glorifisations..
It's quite ironic that under "criticisms" there is a massive, wikipedia-produced, glorifisation at the end: "ANZAC Day in recent years has drawn record crowds[7]. This has largely been seen as the younger generations of Australia wanting to honour their family connections to the sacrifices made by the previous generations[8].". I'm referring to the last sentence... even thought it's cited, it should be rewritten.. anyone? Juckum (talk) 09:42, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Juckum I think you are missing the point. The previous generations did make a huge sacrifice. It isn't glorifying the deeds of past generations to say they gave their lives so we shall live. If it weren't for the suffering and sacrifice, we in Australia wouldn't exist now. The many thousands of Australian's who died protecing Australia from Japanese aggresion have given us the chance to exist. If it weren't for their sacrifice, the way they laid down their lives, this part of the world would be a different place.Ozdaren (talk) 22:52, 28 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I do not think it needs to be changed. The last sentence is needed to put the others in perspective. 76.180.65.118 (talk) 02:25, 25 April 2008 (UTC)SAB


 * Japanese aggression? Wow, the cognitive dissonance here runs deeply. What does Japanese aggression have to do with the Anzacs? The Anzacs fought in World War I. The battle at Gallipolli, which is glorified prominently during Anzac day, was a tremendous waste of human life; the Australians that died there were fighting for British imperial interests, not for defending Australia. They died in a useless battle in a pointless war. What kind of threat did Turkey pose to Australia? Absolutely none. SaimDI (talk) 10:10, 14 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Oops, the above was me. I signed in with the wrong account because I use that name on other websites and obviously created this account a while ago. Saimdusan Talk|Contribs 10:11, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

Other observations
I'd like to make a couple of observations about aspects of the article.

• The Acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. True. But any other word derived from the acronym is just that - a word, and should not be fully capitalised, as per the discussion above. The soldiers were known as 'Anzacs'. The holiday is 'Anzac Day'. The cove is 'Anzac Cove'. The sector of Gallipoli is the 'Anzac sector ' (as opposed to the Helles and Suvla sectors). There are literally thousands of primary source documents and other material proving this. When the Turks officially named the cove 'Anzak Koyu' they idid not call it 'ANZAK Koyu'.

• 'Istanbul' was 'Constantinople' in 1915, so the allies were not attempting to capture Istanbul.

• There were at least two Arab regiments present at Anzac - the 72nd and 77th, so 'Ottoman forces' is more accurate than 'Turkish forces'. Hayaman (talk) 10:21, 3 April 2008 (UTC)


 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the move request. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

Article moved. Fvasconcellos (t·c) 19:36, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Requested move
I am unable to move the page myself due to the Anzac Day page having a history attached to it. As per the discussions above, I propose to move the page from ANZAC Day to Anzac Day, as the non-capitalised version is the commonly accepted version by the general public, and also in Australian and New Zealand legislation. PalawanOz (talk) 08:45, 4 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I support this move. --  JackofOz (talk) 11:19, 4 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Support Most common to write "Anzac" by reliable sources: News, Books, Scholar Fatsamsgrandslam (talk) 18:41, 4 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Move it. Tan   |   39  18:45, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Support. "ANZAC Day" looks very odd. -- Avenue (talk) 03:40, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Support. All historical sources, primary and secondary, use the form 'Anzac'. Hayaman (talk) 04:07, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Support per comments above. One thing to note is that because the non-capped article was created first (28 March 2002), and pasted into this one along with other text, a history merge will have to be done, to ensure we adhere to the terms of GDFL. Here's the oldest version of the non-capped page:, and the first version of the current page: Parsecboy (talk) 13:55, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Support. It's always called Anzac Day here in Aus. Andrewa (talk) 13:19, 6 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Support. Matt (talk) 20:46, 6 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Support ANZAC seems to have become a word in and of itself rather than just an acronym, similar to LASER/laser. Narson (talk) 23:40, 6 April 2008 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Sir John Monash
Monash initiated the initial ANZAC day and was one of the principal organisers after the war and yet gets no mention in the article?--mrg3105 (comms) ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 03:43, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Issue with the 'tone' of one sentence
Despite the objections of the few, Anzac Day now draws record crowds[7]. This has largely been seen as the younger generations of Australia wanting to honour their family connections to the sacrifices made by the previous generations[8].

Right, I happen to be a part of this 'younger generation of Australia', celebrate ANZAC Day every year and do it as much 'honour' as any of the best do, and yet have no 'family connections' to any of these particular sacrifices. Who wants to reword this? Take the tone of racism out of it, yeah? The 'younger generations of Australia' are not composed primarily of people that have particular 'family connections' to ANZAC Day, yet obviously a significant amount of youth commemorate it with a decent amount of respect - where do 'family connections' fit into THAT? This sort of thing doesn't belong here - it doesn't represent the 'younger generations of Australia', unfortunately many would prefer it to, but Wikipedia shouldn't have that breeching of neutrality.

Keep the bit about the sacrifices, the honour, the younger generations, but this 'family connections' stuff should be firmly disposed of. Ideas? Opinions? 220.101.129.116 (talk) 16:35, 24 April 2008 (UTC)


 * The article cited mentions nothing about "family connections". I have therefore removed the phrase.Edelmand (talk) 01:57, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Thank you! 220.101.129.116 (talk) 12:34, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

ANZAC Day remembers ALL fallen Aust and NZ soldiers
Bold text'''ANZAC Day began to commemorate Gallipoli but has evolved in Australian culture to recognise all fallen Australian and New Zealand war dead. See this extract from the page from the Australian National War Memorial

Source: http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.htm (An Australian Government Site)

"The date, 25 April, was officially named ANZAC Day in 1916 and was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia, a march through London, and a sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt. In London over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets. A London newspaper headline dubbed them "The knights of Gallipoli". Marches were held all over Australia in 1916. Wounded soldiers from Gallipoli attended the Sydney march in convoys of cars, attended by nurses. For the remaining years of the war, ANZAC Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and parades of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities.

During the 1920s ANZAC Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the 60,000 Australians who died during the war. The first year in which all states observed some form of public holiday together on ANZAC Day was 1927. By the mid-1930s all the rituals we today associate with the day – dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, two-up games – were firmly established as part of ANZAC Day culture.

With the coming of the Second World War, ANZAC Day was used to also commemorate the lives of Australians lost in that war. In subsequent years the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include Australians killed in all the military operations in which Australia has been involved.

ANZAC Day was first commemorated at the Memorial in 1942 but, due to government orders preventing large public gatherings in case of Japanese air attack, it was a small affair and was neither a march nor a memorial service. ANZAC Day has been annually commemorated at the Memorial ever since.""

AND from the same page:

"Australians recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration. Commemorative services are held at dawn – the time of the original landing – across the nation. Later in the day, ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. It is a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war."

As a proud Australian could you please correct your definition on Wikipedia. Also the amount of space you give to the criticism of ANZAC Day at the end of the article is out of proportion with the reality here in Australia. Very few people are critical of this national day and while I acknowledge there will be some criticism - the amount of commentary you allow in the article is not in proportion with actual sentiment here in this country.

Thanks for Wikipedia its a great service.

--KS Frith, Sydney Australia.-- —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ksfrith (talk • contribs) 23:00, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Aus B class assessment
After going through the article I've made a couple of structural changes. references made into 2 columns, reduced the subsub sections on AFL/NRL games to bold headers this reduces the TOC size. Additionally I removed the section on ANZAC Biscuits as its nothing to do specifically with the 25th should be covered within the context of ANZAC.

I also moved an image of a person marching from the criticism section as its not associated with that section, given that the person is readily identifiable it raises concerns under WP:BLP, that section should only have a protest type image. Reading this section I dont think has given undue weight, the comments by DR Martin Ball could be removed especially the quote as its a conglomerate of comments made within a media opinion piece.

To move forward to GA the references need to be cleaned up, there are still three EL that are linked within the text these need to be changed to citation or moved to a EL section. The lead needs to become a summary of the article and include that ANZAC day has become more than just remembrance of the Gallipoli landing/campaign. Gnangarra 14:27, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Criticism and protests
This section is needing some more attention as it doesnt differentiate between what is Criticism of the day, what it means etc. Where as events like 2005 in Turkey are more news items related to a specific location, rather actual criticisms of the day in general. Gnangarra 13:19, 2 May 2008 (UTC)


 * The events in 2005, as reported at the time, were controversial because they were perceived by some to reflect an inappropriate carnival atmosphere on a day traditionally reserved for commemorating the war dead. The sources cited document this complaint. As such, the material is better placed in the section dealing with "Criticisms, protests and controversies" rather than being placed in isolation elsewhere in the article. Edelmand (talk) 15:46, 2 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Checking against sources I have identified a word for word copy violation in this section it has been removed Gnangarra 13:34, 2 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I have re-worded the information so that it is no longer copy violation, and inserted back into the article. Edelmand (talk) 15:39, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

discussion piece
the para;

In 2007, the issue of allowing conscientious objectors to march was raised in New Zealand, with Peace Action Wellington saying that "conscientious objectors are the real heroes of Anzac Day, which ... has ceased to be a day when people commit to 'never again' wage war and instead has become a celebration of the military and armed conflict".[31]

after reading the source is this relevant to the article as sources reads more like its only two people in Wellington rather than something that was across all of New Zealand. Gnangarra 13:37, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Whilst not disputing the fact that the PAW protest did exist, I don't see it as being terribly relevant in the greater scheme of things - I have had a number of concerns in the back of my head about this whole Criticism section, along the lines that the amount of criticism in the public arena is too small to justify such a large section in the article. Yes, and that is despite it all being so well referenced. PalawanOz (talk) 06:09, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Undue weight tag for "Criticism, protests and controversies" section
An 'undue weight' tag has been added to the "criticism, protests and controversies" section. This section, as currently written, covers three main themes:
 * Historical protests against Anzac day (both in the arts arena, and in the form of anti-war demonstrations);
 * The argument that the revived interest in Anzac day is reflective of an increased feeling of national pride in the Australian community; and
 * The "carnival" or "party" atmosphere perceived to be present at some recent Anzac day ceremonies, particularly amongst the young.

It is unclear which of these three themes the 'undue weight' tag is intended to apply to. The undue weight policy states that:

... the article should fairly represent all significant viewpoints that have been published by a reliable source, and should do so in proportion to the prominence of each..Articles that compare views should not give minority views as much or as detailed a description as more popular views, and will generally not include tiny-minority views at all.

A range of reliable source materials -- both mainstream press pieces and academic articles -- have been provided as citations for the information in this section. If it is alleged that any or all of the three themes listed above are "minority views", then the "majority view" must be thoroughly documented and backed with reliable sources in the article. Currently, this "majority view" is not even identified, much less sourced. Until this is done, the information in the section, as presently written, must stay. Edelmand (talk) 16:34, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The lack of referencing of the 'majority' view isn't at issue - the reliable-source references given for some of the tiny-minority views stand for themselves, and show that they should not be given the weight in the article they currently have. I would support the removal of the well-referenced tiny-minority views. PalawanOz (talk) 22:49, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Firstly, which of the views (I have summarised them into three main themes above) do you consider to be tiny-minority? Just one, or all three? Secondly, if you want to remove the current well-referenced views, you must first be able to demonstrate that they are tiny-minority views. The only way of doing this is to show that there exists a contrary majority view or views which have been published by reliable sources. As the undue weight policy make clear "if a viewpoint is in the majority, then it should be easy to substantiate it with reference to commonly accepted reference texts." Presently, there is no such contrary view even articulated, so the suggestion that the current views are tiny-minority cannot be substantiated. Presumably, if you think the views are tiny-minority, you must be aware of the existence of contrary majority view of views. If so, what are they, and what reliable sources are there to show this? Edelmand (talk) 01:29, 4 May 2008 (UTC)


 * the first point Historical protests against Anzac day (both in the arts arena, and in the form of anti-war demonstrations) no problems with. The second point The argument that the revived interest in Anzac day is reflective of an increased feeling of national pride in the Australian community; how is that a criticism. The third point The "carnival" or "party" atmosphere perceived to be present at some recent Anzac day ceremonies, particularly amongst the young. needs no more than a single paragraph with pertinent sources. Specifically the PAW incident is no more significant than any other protest in anti-Vietnam, Feminist and should have at the most the same level of coverage ie Recently ANZAC day in New Zealeand has attracted protest against New Zealands involvment in places like Afghanistan, and Solomons. Also the PAW paragraph is factually incorrect as the protest wasnt about of allowing conscientious objectors to march was raised in New Zealand. Then theres the quoting of a blogger(Tim Brunero) like he's a reliable signifcant commentator on ANZAC day, all he wrote was an opinion piece on an internet new site.  Gnangarra 04:15, 4 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I have no objection to the removal of the PAW incident.
 * The argument that the revived interest in Anzac day is reflective of an increased feeling of national pride in the Australian community: how is that a criticism?: The criticisms cited, as expressed by journalist Mark McKenna, Professor Joy Damousi and Dr Martin Ball, revolve around the idea that this phenomenon involves an uncritical and self-serving embrace of the Anzac legend by former Prime Minister John Howard. See for example the cited interview with Damousi, who argues that "war and its commemoration assumed a particular patriotic and nationalistic hue under Howard; he unashamedly used Gallipoli and the ANZAC to celebrate past military alliances and to glorify them".
 * The third point The "carnival" or "party" atmosphere perceived to be present at some recent Anzac day ceremonies, particularly amongst the young. needs no more than a single paragraph with pertinent sources. This issue is currently covered in a single paragraph with pertinent sources.
 * Then theres the quoting of a blogger(Tim Brunero) like he's a reliable signifcant commentator on ANZAC day, all he wrote was an opinion piece on an internet new site. The site in question (http://www.livenews.com.au) includes opinion pieces affiliated with Macquarie National News. Brunero is a columnist who contributes his articles to this news service and others, such as the Sydney Morning Herald. There is no reason to suggest that the source cited should be considered any less reliable than other opinion pieces routinely cited on wikipedia from other major news websites, such as the The Courier Mail or The Age. At any rate, the second citation provided (an interview with Stuart Macintyre) makes much the same point concerning the revival of youth interest in Anzac Day. Edelmand (talk) 04:47, 4 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I gave the section a copy edit, removed PAW detail into a general sentence retaining and adding an additional source. The remainder of the section I copy edited to condense, generalised, removed redundant prose, weasel wording, and naming of individuals though all the sourcing has been retained.The complete editing can be viewed here That IMHO addresses the weight issue, Edelmand if your happy with the result please remove the tag. Gnangarra 14:01, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

The first two paragraphs look good. I am a little hazy about some of your edits to the rest. You suggest the existence of weasel wording in the previous version - could you please be more precise as to which words/phrases you consider to be weasel words? If anything, the edited version has added weasel words, such as "Critics contend", "Other critics have suggested". Wikipedia's policy on weasel words specifically identifies phrases such as these as ones to be avoided. Is there a reason the names of the people making the various criticisms have been removed? I agree that it reads better now thanks to your good work, but I fear that someone will simply come along and place "weasel word" tags throughout the section, as has already happened once before to this page.

I will not change your edit for now, pending your response (other than removing the undue weight tag). Thanks. Edelmand (talk) 14:01, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Ref
... features solemn "Dawn Services", a tradition started in Albany, Western Australia on 25 April 1923 needs a ref. cygnis insignis 18:58, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his tribute to the Fallen Soldiers At Gallipoli
I suggest that a section on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk be added under Turkey heading especially his tribute to the soldiers that lost there lives at Gallipoli.

Turkish Memorial to the Australian Fallen In 1934, Kemal Ataturk delivered the following words to the first Australians, New Zealanders and British to visit the Gallipoli battlefields, which was later inscribed on a monolith at Ari Burnu Cemetery ( ANZAC Beach ): Those heroes that shed their blood And lost their lives. You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies 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. The above monolith was unveiled in 1985 when the Turkish Government officially renamed the area "Anzac Koyu". Mehmetchik is a common term for a Turkish soldier similar to "Johnnies", "Tommy"or "Digger".

I found this at http://www.defence.gov.au/anzacday/history.htm the Aust Defence Department website however it is mention on may other websites such as http://www.turkishembassy.org.au/pdf/mainpdf.cfm?SectionTypeID=1&MasterTypeID=1&DivisionID=1 and Kemal Atatürk Memorial, Canberra in Wikipedia.

Keelback (talk) 07:43, 16 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I would have no objections if you were to be so WP:BOLD as to add it verbatim. Appropriate and relevant (and deeply moving) -- Mattinbgn\talk 07:49, 16 October 2008 (UTC)
 * It hadn't been added, so I've now added it Viv Hamilton (talk) 18:38, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

First Dawn Service
In the text, is "first official dawn service" seen as to mean, recognised as the first dawn service or the first dawn service to be sanction by the government? I ask because, it was not the first dawn service and the defence department would agree. See http://www.defence.gov.au/army/traditions/documents/Historyofdawnsvc.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by POds (talk • contribs) 22:51, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Opps, i made this post last week. Forgot to tag it. POds (talk) — Preceding unsigned comment added by POds (talk • contribs) 03:31, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Criticism section (again)
I have my concerns about the criticism section of this article. Firstly, "criticism" sections appears to be discouraged by Criticism (admittedly only an essay) and that "information should be properly incorporated throughout the article rather than having a troll magnet section of random criticisms". "Random criticisms" is a rather apt description of the "criticism" section of this article.

The section uses weasel word terms such as "some critics". Any statements of opinion should be named per WP:WEASEL so that it is clear who that the criticism is coming from. "It is better to put a name and a face on an opinion than to assign an opinion to an anonymous source." Emotive language such as "stoked up" etc. should either be attributed or replaced with NPOV terms.

The section bears the hallmarks of "a coatrack". Large chunks of the section seem to be more concerned about John Howard and his supposed indoctrination of the Australian populace than about how Anzac Day is actually perceived by the public. All of the criticism of Howard is entirely opinion (albeit cited) and of dubious use in this article.

I am not suggesting that this article should not cover the diverse range of opinion about Anzac Day. A Wikipedia article on Anzac Day that did not mention The One Day of the Year and its context would be absurd. In addition, the commemoration services have been used by various groups (from varying groups on all sides of the political spectrum) as a venue to attract attention to their particular causes and there is some cause to include some discussion of this (in an NPOV manner). However, the section as it stands gives undue weight to opinion critical of Anzac Day, seems to be more about attacking political opponents than talking about the day and serves to act as a grab-bag of everything negative that has been said or done about or during the day. The best course of action is remove the section entirely, distribute the relevant material throughout the article and remove the coatracking material and the material that is mere opinion. -- Mattinbgn\talk 04:11, 19 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree - the section is pretty awful. The last para covering Keating and Rudd's comments is particularly pointless (a sitting PM thinks Anzac Day is a good thing - what a surprise!) Nick-D (talk) 05:11, 19 April 2009 (UTC)


 * 1) It is misleading to state that Criticism appears to discourage criticism sections and leave it at that. The policy also suggests that "[t]here is currently no consensus on what is best". In fact, it also notes that a "dedicated section can make dealing with criticism easier by keeping these aspects compartmentalized, as criticisms may be similar and can be combined in a fashion that will reduce repetition".
 * 2) I agree that WP:WEASEL words such as "some critics" should be avoided. Unfortunately, about a year back I attempted several times to add the names of the critics (whose identities can be found in the footnotes provided), but these edits kept getting reverted by other users. Please note, however, that the existence of weasel words is not a reason for removing the criticisms section (as some users have indeed attempted). It is just an argument for more accurately attributing the views cited.
 * 3) If you want more information in the article about "how Anzac day is perceived by the public", then feel free to add it, so long as it can be cited to reliable sources. If you believe this information is currently absent, that is not a valid argument for removing the information currently within the article. The two issues shouldn't be conflated.
 * 4) Criticisms about how Anzac day has been portrayed by the Prime Minister of Australia are clearly relevant to the topic - certainly no less relevant than One Day of the Year. This is demonstrated by the several reliable sources which have been cited. In any case, there are only two sentences in the entire section which even mention John Howard. I don't see how this material constitutes "large chunks" of the article.
 * 5) The undue weight argument has already been answered above (refer to the section on this page entitled "Undue weight tag ..."). This argument, and the suggestion that the article "bears the hallmarks of a coatrack", appear to be based on the assumption that the article contains bias and runs against neutral point of view. If this is your position, you need to substantiate it by first identifying contrary views and then referencing them with reliable sources within the article. Unless these contrary views can be so identified and cited, then your implication - that the inclusion of the criticisms within the article amounts to bias - remains unverified.
 * 6) The last paragraph covering Keating and Rudd's comments is, again, obviously relevant to the topic, given that they are both publicly-expressed views from leading political figures which were widely reported and discussed at the time. To argue otherwise would be like suggesting that Howard's and Rudd's views on an apology to the Stolen Generations should be removed from that article. -- Edelmand (talk) 13:47, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

Alternative image in info box
I've taken the bold step and changed the image over for comparison the one on the left is the new image I took this morning at the dawn service in Perth, the image I replaced is the on the right which was taken at the AWM in Canberra in 2005. IMHO the new images is better in the detail and more reflective of sunrise rather then the old image which looks like a dark square with white dots. Since the image is of AWM and from the 90th anniversery service it has a stronger historical connection then the new one I open the change up for discussion. Over all some thought needs to be given to choice and placement of images in this article. Gnangarra 02:03, 25 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree; that's a better image Nick-D (talk) 02:15, 25 April 2009 (UTC)
 * File:Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg is far better quality IMO. While the 90th anniversary service does have importance it should be about the quality. I'll try and be at the 100th anniversary service in 2015 in Canberra. Must say walked past Steve Fielding at the ANZAC Match today but did click that it was him until it was to late. Bidgee (talk) 04:06, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

"was gazetted"
"British: to announce the status of in an official gazette." (Wiktionary)

This use of the word is unknown in the US, so I have added a brief explanation in parens to its first use in the article, with a link to the Wikipedia definition:
 * The following year a public holiday was gazetted (i.e., officially declared) on 5 April ...

Thnidu (talk) 19:34, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Holiday status in New Zealand
I think that it is incorrect to describe it as a "half holiday" in New Zealand. The half-day restriction is part of the Shop Trading hours act. (Shops must be closed on Christmas day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and until 1pm on Anzac Day. The afternoon of Anzac day is stiill a public holiday - banks and all non-retail businessed are closed and public holiday pay rates are enforced. The fact that shops are open in the afternoon is irrelevant, just as the shops may open on other public holidays such as Queen's Birthday, Labour Day, New year's day etc. dramatic (talk) 02:28, 16 May 2009 (UTC)
 * The Holidays Act 2003 doesn't differentiate between full and half days, it just identifies a number of days as public holidays but the example in S44A(4) indicates that Anzac Day holiday is a 24-hour period. I thinks it's best to describe it in the article as "a holiday" rather than a half-day holiday to avoid any ambiguity. --AussieLegend (talk) 03:16, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Why was ANZAC biscuits section removed?
Clearly they do have some sort of relevence to this day, according to the Wikipedia article itself. It seems that it is traditional for the biscuits to be made/sold especially on this day of rememberence (obviously some research is needed to support such a statement). --DMP47 (talk) 21:59, 4 October 2009 (UTC)


 * ANZAC Biscuits are a sweet biscuit made using rolled oats, flour, coconut, sugar, butter, golden syrup, bicarbonate of soda and boiling water. ANZAC biscuits have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) established in World War I. The biscuit appears to be a variation of Scottish oat cakes, possibly via the Scottish-influenced city of Dunedin, New Zealand. The ingredients do not spoil easily so the biscuits kept well during naval transportation to loved ones who were fighting abroad.


 * Today, ANZAC Biscuits are manufactured commercially for retail sale. Because of their military connection with the ANZACs and ANZAC Day, these biscuits are often used as a fundraising item for the Royal New Zealand Returned Services' Association (RSA) and the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) veterans' organisations. ANZAC biscuits are still issued to Canadian soldiers at Christmas during foreign deployments.


 * In a similar fashion, Tararua Biscuits have been baked for tramping (a New Zealand term meaning hiking or bush walking) in New Zealand since WW1 times. Their ability to resist crumbling in the backpack is their chief virtue. Tramping clubs have baking competitions, with biscuits being judged on taste and consistency, and often subjected to the "six foot drop test". Far from being an emergency food of last resort, they are savoured throughout the trip.


 * A British (though still Australian-produced) version of the ANZAC biscuit, supporting the Royal British Legion, is available in several major supermarket chains.

External Links Issue
I just tried following the external link to the Commemorative Australian site, but the page no longer exists. I don't have an editing account, could someone please fix it? An alternative might be this: http://www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/commemorations/Pages/index.aspx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.101.72.73 (talk) 00:21, 10 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Done. --AussieLegend (talk) 07:49, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Substitute public holiday on the 26th
I think we should add a section that says that the Anzac Day public holiday is celebrated in some Australian states (NSW, ACT, VIC, SA) on the 26th of April if the 25th is a Sunday (e.g. 2010) or another holiday such as Easter Monday (2011). --Neitram (talk) 06:16, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Can you find a reference for that? (Apparently the term 'mondayised' which I searched with is unique to New Zealand)dramatic (talk) 08:58, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Be careful about understanding what is actually happening here. Anzac Day is always 25th April, and that's when major commemorations occur, whatever day of the week it is. But what we now have is an almost national agreement among the Australian states that when it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there will be a public holiday on the following Monday. It may be called the Anzac Day public holiday, but it is NOT Anzac Day. HiLo48 (talk) 05:33, 10 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Also in the case of this year when Anzac Day is the same day as Easter Monday, it is Easter Monday which has its designated holiday moved to the next day. So Monday (April 25) is Anzac Day, Tuesday (April 26) is Easter Monday. Tigerman2005 (talk) 04:57, 25 April 2011 (UTC)
 * ... Tuesday (April 26) is Easter Monday More accurately, Tuesday is the Easter Monday public holiday. Easter Monday itself is still on Monday. Mitch Ames (talk) 05:52, 25 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah thanks Mitch... Tigerman2005 (talk) 12:23, 13 August 2011 (UTC)

PNG EXCLUSION FROM ANZAC
i RECOGNISE THE ORIGIN OF ANZAC CAME FROM GALIPOLLI, BUT SINCE WW1 ANZAC TO ME AND MANY IS THE DAY OF REMEMBERANCE TO MANY MORE THAN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. IN THE WIKIEPDIA INTRODUCTION IT STATES AUST, NEW ZEALAND AND THEN GOES ON TO MENTION SAMOA, TONGA AND OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDS, YET IT EXCLUDES PNG WHERE MUCH OF THE WW2 BATTLES TOOK PLACE AND COMPLETELY FORGETTING THE PAPUA NEW GUINEANS WHO FOUGHT AND SERVED IN THE ALLIED FORCES AND IN REALITY LOST MANY FOR A WAR NOT OF THEIR MAKING.

I HAVE LIVED IN PNG FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS, I HAVE HEARD OF THE ANGUISH OF SO MANY PEOPLE WHO LOST THE HOUSE, THEIR HOMES, THEIR INCOME AND LIVED AND WHILST THERE IS RECENT EMOTIONAL VISITS AND FUNDS BEING SPENT AT kOKODA TRAIL, I FEEL FOR THOSE IN LAE, FINSHAFEN, WEWAK, MADANG, RABAUL, MILNE BAY, NEW IRELAND AND MANY OTHER PLACES THAT BECAME A BATTLE GROUND.

IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW THAT IN MADANG, WE REMEMBER ANZAC BESIDE THE COASTWATCHER MEMORIAL LIGHTHOUSE AND OVER THE PAST YEARS WE HAVE EXPERIENCED UP TO 3000-4000 PEOPLE ATTENDING THE DAWN SERVICE.

IN 2010 AGAIN ANZAC DAY WILL BE REMEMBERED WITH AN ECUMENICAL DAWN SERVICE FOLLOWED WITH A GUN BREAKFAST THAT WILL BE SERVED TO AT LEAST 2000. ALBIET A SAUSAGE SIZZLER, IT IS A WELL EARNT BREAKFAST FOR MANY WHO WALKED MANY MILES TO BE PRESENT.

PERHAPS WIIEPEDIA COULD ALSO RECOGNISE PNG AND IN PARTICULAR MADANG WHERE MANY AUSTRALIANS AND NZ FOUGHT A BLOODY WAR AT SHAGGY RIDGE AND PERHAPS THAT EMOTIONAL VISITS INCLUDE SHAGGY RIDGE IN THE FURTURE.

SIR PETER BARTER MELANESIAN FOUNDATION.


 * Hello Peter (I assume this is you?). Thanks for your comments and welcome to Wikipedia. Firstly, Wikipedia is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit so you are allowed to be bold and add Papua New Guinea to the article yourself. Secondly Wikipedia recognises Papua New Guinea and the New Guinea campaign (see New Guinea campaign and specifically relating to Madang, the Finisterre Range campaign) quite extensively, although of course they could always be improved. Lastly, I agree that other battlefields such as Buna and Gona, Milne Bay and Shaggy Ridge should have as much of an emotional pull on the Australian public as Kokoda and perhaps this will come in time. Cheers and, again, thanks for your comments. -- Mattinbgn\talk 11:49, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 123.243.22.208, 25 April 2010
I would like the inclusion of the following paragraph to recognise that in there are commemoration ceremonies held in Singapore for ANZAC Day:

Singapore - There is a dawn service held at Kranji War Memorial.

Citation: http://www.singapore.embassy.gov.au/

Kranji was the site of the landing beach head for Japanese soldiers during the Battle for Singapore in early 1942, following their invasion of Malaya and routing of Australian and British and Allied troops, The Kranji Commonwealth War cemetery has been the location for ANZAC Dawn Services ever since liberation in 1945.

123.243.22.208 (talk) 11:52, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Not done: please be more specific about what needs to be changed. What section is this supposed to go under? Spitfire 19 (Talk) 20:08, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Criticism
I've taken all that shit off.

It's a tiny minority view not deserving of a mention. What sort of filthy animals say that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gloriousrevolution (talk • contribs)


 * I've restored that extremely well referenced section. I think the answers you (probably don't really) seek are all there. HiLo48 (talk) 09:51, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

New Zealand "celebrating" Anzac Day
I notice that the New Zealand section includes (with my emphasis added here):

In some parts of Australia one would be severely chastised for suggesting that Anzac Day was "celebrated". War is a very bad thing and should not "celebrated". Perhaps the New Zealanders think differently, but I suspect that we should reword that sentence to say "commemorated" instead of "celebrated". (POV disclosure: I'm an Australian, not offended by the terminology, who thinks Anzac Day is vastly overrated. Yes, war is bad, but let's get over it.) Mitch Ames (talk) 06:02, 25 April 2011 (UTC)
 * That sounds sensible Nick-D (talk) 06:47, 25 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes. Good suggestion. Keep the pedants happy. HiLo48 (talk) 06:55, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

I've changed it to the more neutral "moved to the 26th or 27th" - we don't actually care what they do on the day - what's important here is when they do it. Mitch Ames (talk) 08:34, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

External link
I have added a link to the Dept of Foreign Affairs guide to all overseas 2011 ANZAC day events. Though it will 'age' quickly, possibly useful for expatriates? - 220.101 User talk:220.101.28.25\ 09:10, 25 April 2011 (UTC)


 * And I've just removed it. Please read WP:EL, WP:ELNO and WP:RECENT - and the big comment in the article that says NoMoreLinks. Mitch Ames (talk) 09:15, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

Criticism and protests, 2011
I've renamed this section to avoid confusion with an earlier section. Mitch Ames (talk) 12:07, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

I didn't hear about too much criticism and protest on Anzac Day 2011. It's like the idea of sovereign aboriginal states carved out of Australian territory. Despite the mountain of work that has been churned out by academics on this proposal (some of whom are the same people who question the Anzac legend) it is an aspiration supported by a miniscule number of people, about the same size as opposition to Anzac Day.

Aren't there rules on wikipedia about giving too much space for tiny minority views?

Theredchief (talk) 10:36, 26 April 2011 (UTC)


 * WP:NPOV does cover this, basically saying that we should present a balanced view, and not give any view point undue weight. If you think that the article gives undue weight to the "protestors", could be a bit more specific about how and/or suggestions for improvement.
 * It will help if your comments are also neutral. References to "sovereign aboriginal states" are probably not relevant and are unlikely to help your case. Of course if they are, feel free to demonstrate the specific relevant connections. Mitch Ames (talk) 11:37, 26 April 2011 (UTC)


 * There may be merit in splitting the section into several sections, eg:
 * Criticism of Anzac Day and the emphasis place on it
 * Criticism of the injection of a "carnival element" into the events, eg "a rock concert-style performance at Anzac Cove in 2005"
 * The use of Anzac Day as a vehicle for protesting about current (at the time of the protest) wars, rather than commemorating past wars. This includes, for example, the 1960s and 1970s Vietman War protests, as well as current protests about the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) etc.
 * The use of Anzac Day as a vehicle for protesting about non-war things such as feminism, gay rights etc. Protests about rape in war may also fit into this.


 * These are all covered in the one section at the moment, but they independent topics, to one extent or another. Mitch Ames (talk) 11:59, 26 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Moved to new section. Mitch Ames (talk) 12:13, 26 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Please note that I've blocked for POV pushing and probable block evasion. Nick-D (talk) 12:01, 26 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Noted. I'll forget the POV/bias issue then, and put my own comments (about structure rather than POV or bias) into a new section below. Mitch Ames (talk) 12:13, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

I just noticed that we've already discussed the "Criticism and protests" section before in,. I hope were not just rehashing the same thing. Mitch Ames (talk) 12:07, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

Split "Criticism and protests" into multiple sections?
There may be merit in splitting "Criticism and protests" into several sections, eg:
 * Criticism of Anzac Day and the emphasis place on it
 * Criticism of the injection of a "carnival element" into the events, eg "a rock concert-style performance at Anzac Cove in 2005"
 * The use of Anzac Day as a vehicle for protesting about current (at the time of the protest) wars, rather than commemorating past wars. This includes, for example, the 1960s and 1970s Vietman War protests, as well as current protests about the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) etc.
 * The use of Anzac Day as a vehicle for protesting about non-war things such as feminism, gay rights etc. Protests about rape in war may also fit into this.

These are all covered in the one section at the moment, but they independent topics, to one extent or another. Mitch Ames (talk) 12:13, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

Weasel word category
When I enable "show hidden categories" in my preferences or when I edit the article, Wikipedia tells me that this article is in the hidden categories: Yet I can find no "weasel" tags or categories when searching for "weasel" when editing the entire article. Does anyone know why the hidden category is listed, and how we can fix it? Mitch Ames (talk) 03:07, 28 April 2012 (UTC)
 * All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases
 * Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from March 2009
 * A search in the article for "March 2009}}" revealed that the category was added automatically with this edit, which was later incorrectly dated to March 2009. --AussieLegend (talk) 09:12, 28 April 2012 (UTC)


 * And now it's fixed. Thanks. Mitch Ames (talk) 10:06, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Capitalisation of "dawn service"
I uncapitalised "dawn service", on the grounds that it was not a proper noun. Peacemaker67 reverted, citing http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/dawn/. I think that this reverted change is part of a bigger problem. A search through the article for the term "dawn service" finds some uses capitalised, others not. I believe we should be consistent throughout, which means we need to agree on whether the words should be capitalised in general, not just this particular instance. So - is the term "dawn service" a proper noun? Possibly the answer is not just a simple yes or no. One possibility is that: Comments anyone? Mitch Ames (talk) 03:47, 28 April 2012 (UTC)
 * A reference to a specific, official service could be a proper noun and thus perhaps should be capitalised. "Specific" meaning a single instance eg at a designated date and place. "Official" meaning organised by the govt, RSL or similar. (The reverted change that triggered this discussion falls into this category.) This might not be a hard-and-fast rule. In some grammatical contexts the term might not be a proper noun even where referring to a specific event. Eg "X attended the 2012 Dawn Service at Kings Park. 1000 other people also attended that dawn service."
 * A reference to those services in general is not a proper noun and should not be capitalised. Examples include:
 * The section heading Anzac Day (the section is not about a specific instance)
 * This quote: "in more recent times ... have been encouraged to take part in dawn services ..."
 * This quote: "The first official dawn service was held at the Sydney Cenotaph in 1927". Although referring to a specific instance, in this grammatical context the words "dawn service" refer to the general case. (The use of the word "first" to qualify the term "dawn service" is necessary only if "dawn service" is not a specific instance.)


 * I think you've got it right there. There will always be cases on the margin where a good faith judgement will be good enough for me. HiLo48 (talk) 03:51, 28 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm comfortable with that. For example, 'The 2012 Adelaide Dawn Service' as opposed to 'numbers attending dawn services throughout South Australia were up in 2012'. Peacemaker67 (talk) 05:12, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Foundations of Anzac Day
I have removed this:


 * The small New Zealand community of Tinui, near Masterton in the Wairarapa, was apparently the first place in New Zealand to have an Anzac Day service, when the then vicar led an expedition to place a large wooden cross on the Tinui Taipos (a 1200 ft high large hill/mountain, behind the village) in April 1916 to commemorate the dead. A service was held on 25 April of that year. In 2006 the 90th anniversary of the event was commemorated with a full 21-gun salute fired at the service by soldiers from the Waiouru Army Camp.

The text makes clear that Anzac Day commemorations were universal in 1916 and the citation doesn't support this claim.--Jack Upland (talk) 00:27, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Archiving
This page is now getting a bit long with content dating back 7 years. I was wondering whether anyone has any opposition to setting up archiving. --AussieLegend (talk) 10:41, 28 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I'd say not. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 07:06, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

History - Not First Major Action
I don't know about NZ, but Gallipoli wasn't the first major action Australian troops fought in WW1. The first was the capture of German New Guinea. It had much lower casualties, though it did involve the loss of one of Australia's first submarines. Nevertheless it counts as a major action because it is a sizeable territory and it remained in Australia's hands till 1975 and consequently is part of independent Papua New Guinea, whereas Dutch New Guinea is part of Indonesia. I think the commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign was because of the high casualties (including in the landing itself) so I have amended the text accordingly. The citation doesn't support either claim so I've removed it--Jack Upland (talk) 00:16, 24 November 2012 (UTC) Note: there is a discussion about this on the Gallipoli Campaign talk page.--Jack Upland (talk) 08:35, 24 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Disagree with your formulation of what a "major action" is. The Battle of Bita Paka, the only action of note against the Germans by the AN&MEF, resulted in a total of six Australians killed and five wounded. It involved the equivalent of a couple of companies of sailors and soldiers. Not a major action by any measure, although the WP article inexplicably describes it as a "major military engagement". The reason for the loss of the sub is not known, but is unlikely to have been due to enemy action. In my view the first major naval action was the sinking of the Emden and the first major military action was the Landing at ANZAC. However, what we think the reason for the commemoration was is WP:OR. It's what the sources say that counts. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 03:40, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

See the discussion at Gallipoli Campaign talk page. There's no point repeating it here.--Jack Upland (talk) 22:31, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

Howard?
I think the references to Howard are a case of undue weight. He has now been out of power for 5 years, and I think the claim that he had such a power to shape the national psyche is highly questionable since he wasn't even able to hold on to his own seat, let alone retain government. The presentation of this as a criticism is also rather circular, and you have to be against Anzac Day to really object to what Howard did.

I believe the revival of Anzac Day in Australia is part of a process of development that began in the 1980s. Opposition to the Vietnam War became a receding memory. Productions like the film "Gallipoli" and the miniseries "Anzacs" revitalised popular memory, while Australian nationalism became more pronounced with the Bicentenary and sporting triumphs. The deaths of the last remaining Anzacs over the following decade provided a further reminder. Anzac Cove became a popular tourist destination. None of this had anything to do with Howard. Yes, politics played a part, but Labor was involved in this as much as the Liberals.

I think we have to broaden the discussion of the revival of Anzac Day away from Howard. I have changed the title of this section from "Criticism and protests" to "Changing attitudes", but perhaps the revival topic should have its own section.--Jack Upland (talk) 05:46, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

PS The heading has been changed back. But the discussion of the revival is not merely criticism.--Jack Upland (talk) 07:06, 24 November 2012 (UTC)


 * I object to what Howard did with Anzac Day. I'm do not object to the day as a commemoration. Do please be careful with your labelling of people. HiLo48 (talk) 07:14, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Firstly, where's the evidence Howard did it? What specifically do you object to about what Howard did? Secondly, where have I labelled people?--Jack Upland (talk) 07:43, 24 November 2012 (UTC)


 * I'm not here to debate. You said "you have to be against Anzac Day to really object to what Howard did". I disagree, and that's the point. HiLo48 (talk) 08:13, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, that might have been badly phrased. The question is, like it or loathe it, why is it all about Howard? Howard did not create the revival, the jingoism, the populism. Your response indicates you can't actually put your finger on what Howard did. And if you really aren't willing to debate, you shouldn't use the talk page.--Jack Upland (talk) 08:28, 24 November 2012 (UTC)


 * No, you have that wrong. HiLo48 (talk) 09:30, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

How convincing! Anyway, the multiple citations given in the article do not support the statements made about Howard, so they need to be changed.--Jack Upland (talk) 23:04, 24 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Your proposal? HiLo48 (talk) 00:45, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

Something like: Critics see the revival as part of a rise of unreflective nationalism in Australia which was particularly fostered by Prime Minister John Howard.--Jack Upland (talk) 01:34, 25 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Maybe. And a source for that? HiLo48 (talk) 01:48, 25 November 2012 (UTC)
 * They didn't call him Lazarus for nothing. Hawkeye7 (talk) 01:59, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

As I previously said, the citations in the article DO NOT support the statements made!!! They support something like my proposal.--Jack Upland (talk) 22:32, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

Overseas commemorations
Do we need a list of random overseas commemorations? And the Canadians ones are not Anzac Day: they are commemorating the landing from a Canadian point of view.--Jack Upland (talk) 06:51, 24 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The random list isn't useful, but the concept is - Anzac Day events are an important part of the social calendar for the large number of Australian and New Zealanders who live overseas. Nick-D (talk) 07:01, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, maybe just a statement to that effect. Any list will have a tendency to grow, with people adding on a minor event that they know about.--Jack Upland (talk) 07:05, 24 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Many of the events listed have an association to Australian & New Zealand troops and actions they were involved in they arent just randomly chosen events, that said maybe its a an area that has the potential to be broken off into List article and reduce the section to just a few paragraphs. Gnangarra 04:46, 25 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I'd be generally supportive of that approach. Peacemaker67 (send... over) 20:14, 25 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The events are random in that it is a list of some commemorations, many of which are minor. What is the purpose of the list?--Jack Upland (talk) 22:40, 25 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't see the point of, or justification in, splitting the article. Ideally each topic should have a single article and we typically split because of article size and/or content relevance. This article contains only 30kB of readable prose, which is well within WP:SIZERULE's rule of thumb that less than 40 kB of readable prose does not alone justify splitting an article, and well below the 60kB "probably should be divided" boundary. The commemorations are all relevant to the topic so there's no justification to split there. The only reason seems to be to "hide" the list somewhere else so we don't have to see it here. All that is likely to lead to is a bloated, unmaintained, article somewhere else. @Jack Upland - that it is a list of some commemorations does not make it random, it just means that perhaps the list should be expanded to include more events and to exclude commemorations because you think they are minor is introducing an OR element into the article. The purpose of the section is to show how Anzac Day is commemorated in areas where it's not of direct relevance locally, and I think that serves to further demonstrate the significance of the day. -- AussieLegend ( ✉ ) 04:46, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, I'd like to get rid of the Canadian events, because they're not about Anzac Day as such. My issue with the list wasn't the length but the fact that it invited people to add in any event they knew about, which isn't encyclopedic.--Jack Upland (talk) 09:55, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * My thinking in splitting(not article size) is creating a list that has meaningful sort options ie, country, location, specific Oz or NZ association etc, with that this article takes a prose approach to the information say three to four paragraphs that hits the highlights/key events. Gnangarra 13:51, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

Villers-Bretonneux
I'm not bold enough to edit the article, but I feel that Villers-Bretonneux should be mentioned much more prominently. The coincidence of the 1918 attack on the same date as the beginning of the Gallipoli campaign could be mentioned in the introduction for example. While I've learned now that ANZAC day was established even before 1918, the actions around 1918-04-25 have surely become an important component of remembrance since the war. From the article Villers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial I gather that said memorial is the main focus point for ANZAC remembrance regarding the Western Front theatre. --BjKa (talk) 13:24, 31 January 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 25 April 2013
Re Anzac Day article : Manly is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales not in Queensland.

72.177.119.68 (talk) 12:11, 25 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: Please see the Manly, Queensland article. I'm not all that knowledgeable about Australian geography, but this appears to be a distinct place from Manly, New South Wales. &mdash; KuyaBriBri Talk 14:36, 25 April 2013 (UTC)