In 1914 WW1 began and Australia supplied the allied powers (mainly for the mother land: Britain) with soldiers known as the ANZAC’s. These soldiers played a very significant role in the legend of Australia through the long lasting stories and qualities they have established.
Firstly, the ANZAC’s helped to define Australia’s personality and morals to themselves and other nations, many people like to think that our nation was born in WW1 and have taken a list of attributes from this occurrence. These attributes were the creation of the Anzac legend, they included: mateship, spirit of the bushman, independence, humour, and bravery. One other quality the Anzac’s stood by was that all people had to prove their worth even if they were already seen as authority figures “The Anzac’s were seen as disrespectful to authority. They admired the man, not the uniform (source G).” Australia was defined to other nations during WW1 by our soldier’s actions, however it is important to remember that war was not the only defining act.
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Many people in Australia have some kind of connection to World War One, in Gallipoli alone over 26, 000 Australians died which is why a main argument against the war being a defining point is that a nation should not be personified by work in the gruesome act of warfare. Not only that but war conditions should not be romanticised, “The dirt, the flies, the cold, and the monumental discomforts of Gallipoli… The danger, the brutality, the suffering, the waste of life, and the dehumanizing effects of warfare (source F).” This is what made the legend so debateable for those who experienced the effects of