Report to Government

Greater recognition of the role of women and families

2.21In advancing the aim of an objective and multifaceted approach to the Anzac Centenary, the Board considers that light needs to be shone upon the previously underplayed role of women and families, as part of the Anzac inheritance. For over a century of our country’s involvement in war and conflict, Australian women have known the emotional burden of waiting at home for news of their loved ones serving overseas. They and their families have cared, and continue to care, for their loved ones who bear the physical, emotional and mental wounds of conflict. Women and families share the effects of those wounds and injuries. Likewise, there have been many war widows throughout the century and these women also need to be recognised. It is understood that the War Widows Guild will develop a proposal for consideration in the near future. Women have also made an increasingly direct and active contribution to Australia’s defence, serving in military and civilian roles both at home and abroad. Since the turn of the 20th century the roles available to Australian women during times of war and conflict have undergone a dramatic expansion. Today they serve at the forefront of peacekeeping operations and in combat support duties. During the Boer War (1899–1902), women served as patriotic war fund workers, school teachers and nurses. During the First World War little changed in relation to the role of women. Again, their role was mainly on the home front but more women served overseas, some of those who worked in casualty clearing stations close to the front were awarded Military Medals for bravery. Much altered during the Second World War with the huge demand for people, both in the armed forces and in industry. This helped lead to the opening up of the job market to women and the creation of the women’s auxiliary services. However, the more traditional female roles of fundraising and civilian volunteer work at home still remained. Over 450,000 Australians were members of the Red Cross during the Second World War, of whom 95 per cent were women. One of the Red Cross’s key roles was providing support for prisoners of war and their families.⁴

2.22The involvement of women in the Australian Defence Force has altered much since the end of the Second World War and especially since the Vietnam War. Women today represent almost 14 per cent of the Australian Defence Force permanent workforce. In September 2011, the Minister for Defence announced that the Government had formally agreed to the removal of gender restrictions from Australian Defence Force combat roles. Women currently serving as members of the Australian Defence Force were entitled to apply for a career in a combat role from January 2013, provided they meet all the requirements, with direct entry recruitment expected to commence from January 2016.

2.23All relevant Anzac Centenary activities should consider whether they are representing the roles of women adequately. For example, explaining how they have served in the armed forces and at home, including telling the stories of strong and resilient women.

Australian Remembrance Trail

2.24The central place of Gallipoli in the Australian story has to date overshadowed the achievements of the approximate 300,000 Australians who served on the Western Front and their part in the eventual defeat of the Central Powers. Their story is one of triumph and tragedy, of unimaginable losses to a young nation and an extraordinary part in the course of history.

2.25The Board supports the development of the Australian Remembrance Trail along the Western Front as a most significant and appropriate contribution to the commemoration of Australian service on the Western Front in France and Belgium (see Figure 2). On completion, a comprehensive education and communications campaign needs to be initiated to inform all Australians of the opportunities to visit and learn about Australia’s experience of war on the Western Front.

2.26The Board notes that the Trail will constitute a comprehensive and easily accessible set of materials and options to inform and guide visitors of all ages, levels of fitness and varying amounts of time to travel. Subject to the traveller’s available time, visitors will be able to view some or most of the principal areas in which Australians fought, visit high-quality interpretative centres presenting Australian material, and access related sites of Australian interest. The interpretative materials presented assume no prior knowledge of the subject and will be available in a mix of traditional and digital media formats. The Trail and associated materials will provide ample opportunity for contemplative reflection.

2.27In the 2009–10 Federal Budget, the Government committed $10 million to develop, in partnership with French and Belgian regional and local authorities, a Trail for completion by the Centenary, which will allow Australian and other visitors to interpret the Australian experience of war on the Western Front. It was decided not to establish a single national interpretative centre—the model employed by Britain at Thiepval and by Canada at Vimy. Instead, the Australian Remembrance Trail builds upon the existing efforts of French and Belgian communities to commemorate Australian service, some of which date back to the 1920s. The Trail spans much of the nearly 200 kilometres of the Western Front where Australians served: from the Channel coast of Belgium to Montebrehain in France.

Figure 2 Australian Remembrance Trail

The key locations on the Australian Remembrance Trail are marked with the ‘Rising Sun’ emblem of the Australian Imperial Force. The Trail can be accessed at any point, but is most readily commenced at either Ieper in the north, or Villers-Bretonneux in the south.

2.28In a partnership approach, generally funded equally by Australia and France, the project will deliver, in time for the Centenary, the following:

In France:

• 
  A new museum at Fromelles, adjacent to the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, to be opened in 2013. This museum will tell the story of the Australians’ first battle in France, the disastrous 1916 Battle of Fromelles. It will also tell the story of the 2009 recovery from Pheasant Wood of the remains of 250 Australian and British soldiers who died at Fromelles in 1916, and their reinterment and commemoration in the Fromelles War Cemetery. Nearby are the existing Cobbers memorial, and V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial.
  
• 
  A new museum at Bullecourt, building on the efforts of Jean and Denise Letaille. This new museum opened on Anzac Day 2012 and tells the story of the two bloody battles fought by Australians at Bullecourt in April and May 1917. Since the opening of the new museum, visitation has increased 400%. Nearby in the Bullecourt Memorial Park is the Digger memorial, site of an Australian Government led ANZAC Day service.
  
• 
  At Pozieres, where Australia sustained 23,000 casualties in a little over six weeks in 1916, improved visitor facilities will provide new interpretation, parking, traffic access, toilet and picnic facilities. A number of walks, supported by both traditional signage and digital media will encompass points of significance including the 1st Division Memorial, the Gibraltar blockhouse captured by Australians, and the Windmill site, ‘a ridge more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other spot on earth’ (Charles Bean).
  
• 
  At Villers-Bretonneux an extension to and major refurbishment of the Franco Australian Museum, which commemorates the decisive battle fought there by Australians on the night of 24–25 April 1918. Located within the Victoria School, which was built with money raised in Australia after the War, the museum also honours the remarkable relationship between the town and Australia, which continues to this day. Close by are the Australian National Memorial, site of the Australian Government led ANZAC Day dawn service, and the Adelaide Cemetery, from where the Unknown Soldier was disinterred before his reinterment in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in 1993. Major roadworks and parking facilities to improve visitor safety and access at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux will also be undertaken.
  
• 
  At Mont St Quentin and Peronne, working in partnership with l’Historial de la Grande Guerre, the Trail will deliver materials that will allow visitors to interpret the battles for the Mont and Peronne, considered by many to be among the greatest achievements of the Australian Army in the War.
  
• 
  The Trail incorporates the existing Australian Corps Memorial at Le Hamel which commemorates and interprets the 4 July 1918 Battle of le Hamel, fought by the Australian Corps, led for the first time by General John Monash. This ‘model victory’ would become the template for future Allied operations on the Western Front.
  

In Belgium, the Australian Government has contributed to:

• 
  A new interpretative centre at Ploegsteert, to be opened in 2013, which focuses on the Australian contribution to the Battle of Messines. Located adjacent to the Ploegsteert Memorial, the new centre is also close to Toronto Avenue Cemetery, the only all-Australian cemetery in Belgium.
  
• 
  A new Australian display at the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, in Zonnebeke, to be opened in 2013. Nearby is Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth war graves cemetery in the world, which incorporates wartime German blockhouses captured by Australians.
  
• 
  The In Flanders Fields Museum at Ieper (Ypres), which reopened in 2012 after a major refurbishment, has incorporated new Australian content. A short walk away is the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, site of the moving Last Post Ceremony each evening and a remarkable point at which to start or finish a visit to the Western Front.
  

2.29The project, which will be self-sustaining in French and Belgian hands on completion, also provides for a web-based Virtual Visitors’ Centre. The Virtual Visitors’ Centre will provide for Trail audio, imagery and other materials to be accessed by all forms of digital devices, including mobile phones, by both visitors to the former Western Front and Australians and others at home.