The ANZAC Epilogue - Mateship through Carnage

Exactly one hundred years ago today, in the dead of night New Zealand and Australian boats pulled up on the beach in Turkey known today as ANZAC cove. This was the beginning of a bloody and pointless siege that would last eight months.

Elsewhere in Europe, hundreds of thousands were dying in trenches and in fields that stretched for miles in battles for European domination.  But that's not what we remember down here. Here we are taught about a battle where Australian and New Zealand working class lads were sent to fight an impossible fight in a land they'd never heard of, for a king they'd never seen. As the Australian Prime Minister of the day responded 'Our duty is quite clear - to gird up our loins and remember that we are Britons'.

Before Gallipoli there was colonial Britain. Britain had our backs and we were content colonial subjects (For God! For King! and For country! Ake, ake, Kia Kaha E!). The British military orders that resulted in thousands of New Zealanders and Australians being mown down on the cliffs of ANZAC cove bought that era to a blunt and traumatic end and in its place came our identity as sovereign nations and not mere colonies. London's catastrophic mistake at Gallipoli heralded a cultural shift away from Britain, starting with a change in military policy (ANZAC troops with ANZAC officers) and the most recent being debates on both sides of the Tasman about changing our national flags to a new design- the only consensus being that it would exclude the Union Jack.  Our affection towards "mother" Britain has steadily faded over the years to a sort of convivial long distance friendship, like pen pals with nothing new to write about and less and less in common.

In contrast, Gallipoli has forged our nations together in what the Australians call "mateship"; a deep unspoken bond that transcends friendship and has become the basis of our nations' trans-tasman relationship.  There is no better word to describe the unique relationship between Australia and New Zealand.  As Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia, once said "New Zealand alone is family".

The colonies now remember the aristocracy who viewed our countrymens' lives as expendable.  But more importantly, we celebrate the ties forged on those cliffs and the enduring friendship of our nations.  The co-operation, peace and stability we share surpasses that of any other multilateral union in the world.  Mateship is our union and our identity. That mateship is what we celebrate in our commemoration today.