On 4 August 2014, worldwide commemorations marking the centenary of the First World War will start, continuing until 2018. For Australians, the ‘Anzac Centenary’ will be one of the most significant commemorations to take place in the lives of current generations. The war was a vast tragedy and had profound, devastating and enduring consequences for many nations, their peoples and their families, including in Australia. Alongside the trauma and loss, the war also witnessed the service and sacrifice of thousands of Australian volunteer servicemen and servicewomen. Service and sacrifice that was characterised by courage, endurance, tenacity, resilience, selflessness and mateship. Values that defined a young nation and the character of her people.
The Centenary will be a period when our experience of war and conflict during the First World War and over a century of service will receive significant national attention and analysis, as well as deeply personal individual and family reflections and emotions. For this reason, the Board’s view of the Centenary is broad, multifaceted and, at times, challenging.
The Anzac Centenary program has been developed progressively—particularly over the past twelve months—following a series of Australian Government decisions. The Board’s ongoing advice has been communicated regularly to the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Centenary of Anzac. The additions to the program we are proposing in this report constitute our final strategic advice on the composition of the program.
With the great generation of Australians who participated in our national effort in the Second World War approaching the end of their lives, it will be particularly important to commemorate and remember their service and sacrifice during the Centenary period. Similarly, we must also remember and engage those who participated in Korea, Vietnam and all conflicts and peacekeeping operations of the modern era, including Afghanistan. These considerations are the central focus of the Century of Service theme.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that is far from peaceful and Australian servicemen and servicewomen will continue to face dangers. Some will bear wounds and injuries from their experiences—physical, emotional and mental. Learning from the experiences of Australians at war and their families over the last century or more remains vitally important and relevant today.
A central theme of our report is that community involvement in the Centenary is critical to its success. The participation of individuals and communities is the vehicle for passing a unifying Anzac legacy to current and future generations of Australians from all backgrounds. We believe that business also has a strong role to play and should consider how it may assist. There is clearly a vital role for government and bipartisanship, at all levels, as a catalyst for a successful Centenary; however, the Centenary is far more than government policy. No group ‘owns’ the Anzac Centenary—it belongs to the whole community. The Anzac legacy is an inheritance for all of us.
The Board has consulted with a range of interested parties—the community, the business sector, state and territory governments and overseas governments—in developing its program. We have also actively engaged to distil and enhance some of the ideas presented to us. We thank all those individuals and organisations that have submitted ideas on the Anzac Centenary. The ideas submitted have helped shape the program.
The Board has grouped its recommended initiatives into three streams of activity—‘education and research’, ‘commemoration’, and ‘arts and culture’—each with its own series of initiatives. If commemoration is the heart of the Centenary then education and research is its head. Improving education and awareness, especially for younger generations of Australians, is one of the most important legacies that can come from the Centenary.
The commencement of the Anzac Centenary is now less than two years away. Detailed planning and delivery of the Anzac Centenary program constitutes a major national effort, one which the Australian people will expect to be done to a standard of excellence. When Australians look back at the end of 2018 and reflect on what the Anzac Centenary has meant to them, we hope they recognise it as having been a powerful, engaging and challenging time. That it left a reinvigorated national awareness and increased knowledge of Australia’s military history and the service and sacrifice of earlier and current generations of Australian servicemen and servicewomen. We urge all Australians to take an active interest in the development of Australia’s Anzac Centenary commemorations, and to participate—in their communities and at national events—in the Centenary program from 2014 to 2018.
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston AC, AFC (Ret’d)
Chair
Anzac Centenary Advisory Board
1 March 2013
Overview The Board’s Task -
In October 2011, the Australian Government established the Anzac Centenary Advisory Board (the Board) to provide strategic advice to the Australian Government in relation to the planning and implementation of Anzac Centenary initiatives. The program of agreed initiatives would be delivered through existing government departments.
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A range of significant Anzac Centenary initiatives has already been announced by the Australian Government, largely over the past twelve months. The Board’s input to the program has been ongoing since its establishment and this report provides the Board’s final strategic advice on the composition of the program. The report has a focus on education and commemoration—the head and heart of the Anzac Centenary.
Rabaul to Return and Century of Service -
Fundamental to the Anzac Centenary commemoration program are two related themes:
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Rabaul to Return—between 2014 and 2018, commemorations will take place to mark the centenary of the First World War and the service and sacrifice of those who participated. More than 60,000 Australians lost their lives during the First World War. Thousands died later from their wounds, putting the toll closer to double the number who died during the conflict. For tens of thousands of Australians, the effects of the First World War did not end on Armistice Day in November 1918, nor when the surviving troops returned home over the next few years. Unfortunately, this is the experience of every war. The Board considers that one of the most important legacies that should come from the Centenary is a far deeper understanding and a more constructive approach to the ongoing impacts of war on those who are involved.
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Century of Service—the 2014–18 period will also be a time to commemorate more than a century of service and sacrifice by the men and women who have served, and continue to serve, Australia and its allies during war and on peacekeeping operations.
A unifying inheritance -
The Anzac Centenary will be a period when Australians’ experience of war and conflict will receive significant national attention and analysis, as well as deeply personal reflections and emotions. The Anzac Centenary will be far more than a recollection of past events. It is as much about the present and the future. It is about commemorating earlier generations of Australian servicemen and servicewomen and honouring those who continue that legacy today. It will be a time to discover the people behind the events and the numbers.
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Contemporary Australia is very different in many ways from the Australia of 100 years ago, and has been shaped by the subsequent experience of war and peace. The Anzac Centenary is about capturing an inheritance whose values are still relevant today and to our future as a nation. We need to re-express this experience for a changed Australian society in which, thankfully, the Anzac tradition remains strong. It can never be taken for granted.
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The Board has no doubt that the Anzac Centenary will be a powerful and unifying occasion, facilitated by initiatives that actively foster the participation of all Australians. There is a vital role for governments, at all levels, to act as a catalyst for a successful Centenary; a bipartisan approach is of great importance to the commemorations. However, the Centenary is far more than government policy. No group ‘owns’ the Anzac Centenary—it belongs to the whole community.
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The Board feels strongly that the Centenary program needs to balance major national projects with significant community outreach. It needs to empower communities from coast to coast to commemorate and remember their own history of service and sacrifice, and in ways of their own choosing. It needs to be inclusive by encouraging communities from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds to participate to enhance their knowledge and understanding of Australia’s experience of war and its impact on our national identity and character.
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Volunteers and civil society must be actively engaged wherever possible. This is not only because of the operational support that they can so effectively provide, or because this is squarely in line with the objective of community engagement, but because volunteerism aligns with Anzac values. Just as bipartisanship is vital at the political level so, more generally, the commemoration program must enjoy wide community support and not be a subject of controversy and division. Difficult issues, such as the management of numbers for the 100th anniversary at Gallipoli, should continue to be worked through in a transparent, consultative fashion with the community, relevant organisations, and with those affected.
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Business also has a strong role to play and the Board urges companies to consider how they may assist, whether that is through donations to the Anzac Centenary Public Fund or through in-kind support.
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The Anzac Centenary will provide a unique opportunity to commemorate, reflect on and further strengthen Australia’s special relationship with New Zealand. The Anzac experience is as important to New Zealand as it is to Australia, and this legacy is crucial to understanding the close and vital ties that exist between the two countries today. It is important to include a New Zealand perspective in relevant parts of the Centenary program—both in Australia and overseas—as this will facilitate a deeper appreciation of our shared history and modern relationship. The Anzac history, traditions and legacy of the two countries are distinct, but also deeply interrelated. In the many points where the two countries’ programs intersect, opportunities for cooperation should be seized.
Consultation, participation and deliberation -
The Board’s role to date has seen it involved heavily in the tasks of consultation, participation and deliberation. The Board:
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has consulted widely with the Australian community and business sector, all levels of government, and key overseas interests to gather views on what the Centenary should look like and encompass
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together with its working groups, has also participated actively with a number of stakeholders on preparing possible proposals in areas of need, and to modify, integrate and distil other ideas and proposals to improve their focus and cost-effectiveness
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has deliberated on the many proposals before it, using a strategic framework to arrive at its recommendations. The Board’s ongoing advice has been communicated regularly to the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Centenary of Anzac.
Strategic framework -
The Board has established a strategic framework to assist with developing its views on a robust, integrated and cost-effective program. It includes three objectives—education, engagement and empowerment—to be achieved by three broad streams of activity:
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education and research
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commemoration
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arts and culture.
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A set of principles has also been developed to summarise what the Board thinks is important in developing its views on the Centenary program. Many of the Board’s proposals support more than one objective and this adds to their value.
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If the Centenary program meets or exceeds the requirements of the Board’s strategic framework, the Board considers that the Centenary has every chance of being successful and a source of pride for Australians. There is still a substantial task ahead in delivering the program, but the plan of action has been rigorously developed.
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The Board considers that an improved and broader understanding of Australia’s military experience, its impacts and its lessons, would be one of the most important legacies of the Centenary. The Board is recommending a wide-ranging Anzac Centenary education and research program of activities with multiple initiatives.
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A high-quality Anzac Centenary travelling exhibition. An interactive travelling exhibition for the digital age could be a flagship Anzac Centenary project. It would bring the Centenary to many people in rural and regional Australia who otherwise would have limited opportunities to be involved. It may also travel to urban communities. The Board considers that a travelling exhibition would act as a catalyst for involvement by communities. A visit by the exhibition could be coordinated with Centenary events being organised by the local community to enhance the overall experience. The potentially high cost of a travelling exhibition means this is an initiative well-suited to private sector donations.
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The Exhibition in a Box initiative being developed by the Australian War Memorial and the National Archives of Australia to assist communities develop their own Anzac Centenary exhibitions. This initiative could complement a visit by the travelling exhibition and also support grassroots Centenary events in communities that will not be visited by the exhibition.
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An educational and research scholarships and history grants scheme that offers the potential to enhance research and teaching, including of Australia’s military history and the experience, impact and lessons of Australians’ involvement in war.
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Support for a proposal by the Australian War Memorial and the Australian National University to convene an international history conference focusing on the Gallipoli campaign. The organisers propose to invite outstanding scholars and writers from all the representative nations involved in the Gallipoli campaign. They will present original research on the Gallipoli campaign.
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Greater recognition of the role of women—in the services and on the home front. The 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. The impact of war and loss on widows—and on women and families as a result of supporting those who bear physical, emotional and mental wounds and injuries of war—also deserves to be recognised and reflected upon.
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A comprehensive education and communications campaign to inform Australians of the opportunities to visit and learn about Australia’s experience of war on the Western Front afforded by the Australian Remembrance Trail. The Australian Remembrance Trail is a partnership with regional governments and local communities in France and Belgium, building upon the existing efforts of those communities—in places dating back to the 1920s—to commemorate the service and sacrifice of Australians in the First World War. Completion of the Australian Remembrance Trail will provide an outstanding and original opportunity to visit and learn about Australia’s significant contribution to the First World War (see Figure 2 on page 37).
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Digitisation of the repatriation records of a sample of surviving First World War servicemen and servicewomen. Australian servicemen and servicewomen who returned to Australia at the end of the First World War, and had formal contact with the repatriation authorities, generated repatriation records. This initiative would make a unique historical record accessible to all. It would support new research, including into the personal and social impact of the First World War and into the repatriation process. It would not only be important academically but also in helping to discover more about the individual servicemen and servicewomen who fought in some of the most atrocious battles of the First World War and who returned home and had to find their way again in civilian society, often carrying physical, mental and emotional wounds.
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The role of Indigenous Australians in the Australian Defence Force deserves greater recognition. It is important to make it clear that this is not an exercise in political correctness but that appropriate recognition of Indigenous Australians in our efforts at war and in our military is well overdue. For example, non-Europeans were officially barred from serving in Australia’s armed forces at the time of the First World War. Notwithstanding this, many Indigenous Australians fought in the war.
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The role of Australians from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in defending our freedom and values deserves to be recognised. Even though the White Australia policy persisted into the 1960s, the make up of Australia’s armed forces has always reflected the country’s diversity. If we are to make the Anzac tradition a unifying inheritance for today’s Australians, the connections must be made to contemporary Australian society, its diversity and its values. The Centenary provides a very rare and special opportunity to do this.
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A clear ongoing focus on evidence-based research on posttraumatic stress disorder. This will contribute to a positive legacy from the Centenary of effective treatment for affected veterans. Australia is in a position to contribute world-class research. We have a national interest—and an obligation to our servicemen and servicewomen—in being a significant player in the international research effort and in continually monitoring current and emerging Australian and international research and experience with a view to improving treatment and, to the extent possible, the means of prevention.
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Development of documentaries and programming with Anzac Centenary themes. All forms of transmission should be utilised—television, cinema, radio and online, as well as the use of new and emerging communications technologies.
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The phenomenal growth and rapid evolution of social media applications—Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube—creates opportunities to engage with Australians and visitors with real-time information about events and initiatives and to interact with individual people about their expectations and experiences. These possibilities should be promoted. The sharing of information and personal interaction will also be a vehicle to disseminate the values, principles and culture of a respectful and creative Anzac Centenary commemoration.
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An educational, protective and preservative initiative for the submarine, HMAS AE2. The role and the fate of the AE2—the largest Australian relic from the Gallipoli campaign—is poorly understood. Today, it lies at the bottom of the Sea of Marmara in present-day Turkey. The vessel was not located until 1998. The Board considers that a threshold level of protection and preservation of this historic relic is important, as is an appropriate educational campaign, targeted largely to younger Australians. This initiative will be possible if support from private sector donations is forthcoming.
Commemoration -
The Board is in no doubt that the Anzac Centenary period will be a time when Australians will want to engage in commemorative activity in substantially greater numbers. In Australia, the principal focus will be the 2015 Anzac Day services. Greater participation by members of the Australian Defence Force and young Australians should be encouraged. To the maximum extent possible the traditional order of service should be maintained, although the special nature of the 2015 services suggests there may be scope to enhance the Anzac experience at the national service in Canberra and at Gallipoli. At the Gallipoli dawn service or the Lone Pine service a special Hands of Friendship ceremony between former adversaries could be added to the traditional service. The Board acknowledges the physical limitations on how many people will be able to participate safely in the Gallipoli and Lone Pine 2015 Anzac Day services and possibly other services. While this process is being managed by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in close consultation with Turkey as the host country, as well as New Zealand, the Board considers that avenues to increase the opportunity for engagement with the Centenary at Gallipoli should be explored. This would include encouragement of visits on other key anniversary dates through the length of the eight-month campaign. What is important is developing a solution that has the widest acceptance in the community and also with the Turkish Government.
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4 August 2014 will be the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Shortly after, in September 2014, the centenary of Australia’s first military campaign of the First World War—removal of German forces and subsequent occupation of German New Guinea—will take place. This campaign also saw the loss of the submarine, HMAS AE1, the Royal Australian Navy’s first wartime loss. These events are most worthy of appropriate commemoration, possibly at Rabaul.
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The importance of Albany, Western Australia, to the Anzac story should be recognised at a national level. The first convoy carrying the Australian Imperial Force and New Zealand Expeditionary Force (later to be known as the Anzacs) left Albany for Egypt and Gallipoli on 1 November 1914. At the time they left, the troops believed they were bound for Europe and only discovered en route that their destination was Egypt. Even when they reached Egypt, they were not aware that they would eventually be sent to Gallipoli. The Board considers that a commemoration at Albany to mark the departure of the first convoy on and around 1 November 2014 should occur. It must be a respectful event, recognising what faced the servicemen and servicewomen onboard at Gallipoli and the Western Front. The event warrants national broadcasting and should be a catalyst for substantial Albany volunteer and community participation in the event. The first convoy also provides a backdrop for the HMAS Sydney/SMS Emden engagement at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which should also be appropriately commemorated.
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Annual programs of significant domestic and international commemorative events, observances and services should be developed and published as early as practicable for each successive year of the Centenary. This will help Australians to plan so they may attend events, services and observances, including alternatives to participating in iconic services where attendance is limited by geographic, safety and security factors.
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The Board welcomes the Australian Government’s announcement in December 2012 of provision of Deductible Gift Recipient status to a proposed National Boer War Memorial and a proposed National Peacekeepers’ Memorial, allowing donations to be tax deductible. It also welcomes the Government’s decision to provide $0.2 million funding towards the proposed National Boer War Memorial.
Arts and culture -
Artistic creations and performances will provide powerful and diverse ways to explore a wide range of themes and to engage and educate people with the sweep of experiences, values and emotions of those men and women who were involved in the First World War and in other wars and hostilities. The Board believes that there is scope for all forms of artistic expression to be used to explore and convey to Australians of all ages, backgrounds and cultural and linguistic heritages, the multitude of stories, reflections and messages about Australia’s military experiences.
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Most artistic creations and events with Anzac Centenary themes will be inspired and proceed during the Centenary in the traditional way, although the Board and governments may wish to be involved in supporting some of the more complex proposals. The Board wishes to mention a few artistic initiatives and proposals that it believes are worthy of support—a Gallipoli Symphony, an Australian War Requiem, an Australian–New Zealand War Art Exhibition, an Australian Defence Force play that personalises Australia’s recent experience of war with performers including veterans who have been physically or mentally wounded in recent operations, and the ‘Black Diggers’ project, inspired by the Indigenous Australians who enlisted during 1914–18.
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States and territories conduct major arts festivals each year. These are frequently international events with broad programs in terms of the creative media being employed, and a range of content being performed or exhibited. The Board’s Chair has met with the organisers of major festivals to make them aware of the Anzac Centenary period and to request their consideration of artistic ideas and events that could contribute to the Centenary.
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The establishment of an Artistic Director to help coordinate and promote artistic events and initiatives for the Centenary should be considered as a cost-effective way to support the integration of Centenary themes into numerous artistic events.
Funding and merchandising -
Through a number of previous decisions, the Australian Government has already committed approximately $115 million in funding for Anzac Centenary-related initiatives. This includes $5 million to build an Australian War Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand, allocated in the 2007–08 Budget; and $10 million for the Australian Remembrance Trail, committed in the 2009–10 Budget. The Board recognises that any requests for additional Commonwealth funding arising from this report will need to be considered in this context and be carefully targeted and justified. This is the reason the Board has engaged in a rigorous process to identify what it believes to be appropriate additional proposals.
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The Board is confident that the Australian corporate sector will wish to support, and be associated with, the Anzac Centenary through financial and other means. Corporate donations will be facilitated by an appropriate policy framework, especially clarity about which proposals have been endorsed by the Australian Government for possible private funding and the establishment of an Anzac Centenary Public Fund to hold corporate donations. Recognition of corporate involvement should be consistent with the dignity of the Anzac Centenary.
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Notwithstanding their merits, it is clear that total state and territory funding requests of the Australian Government will be substantial and some requests are not yet fully defined. In the Board’s view, the total funding request is unsustainable. The Board’s suggested approach is that an equitable share of donated funding to the Centenary held in the Anzac Centenary Public Fund be earmarked for these proposals and a consistent and fair approach to sharing this pool between states and territories be determined. This approach recognises that many corporations have close ties to particular states and territories and their capital cities, and state and territory governments should be well-placed to approach these corporate citizens.
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It will be essential to be able to demonstrate to the public that all monies or in-kind support received by the Government have gone into Anzac-related activities, and that any surplus is not taken by the Government for consolidated revenue. While business donors will, of course, be looking to derive reputational benefit from association with the Anzac Centenary, this will be best achieved by demonstrating to the public that they are supporting a community cause. Donations should be in accord with the companies’ community service values and programs, rather than driven by their commercial marketing strategies.
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Likewise, merchandising must be fully in line with the solemn spirit and dignity of the commemoration. The principal objective should be to make available to the public an appropriate and affordable range of items that provide a sense of involvement and serve as souvenirs of this unique occasion in Australia’s life. As with corporate funding, any revenue generated by the sale of official merchandise and donated funds remaining at the conclusion of the Centenary should be contributed to appropriate Anzac Centenary legacy initiatives.
The Board’s future role -
Following discussions with the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Centenary of Anzac on appropriate ongoing governance arrangements, the Board recommends that it should continue to operate throughout the Anzac Centenary until 2018. The Board sees its future role as continuing to be advisory to the Government and engaging with the community. However, it is also proposing stronger roles in informing Australians about the agreed program and strategic advice to the Government on its implementation, including advice on priorities in the disbursement of donated funds.
Delivery -
The detailed planning and delivery of the Anzac Centenary program constitutes a major national effort, one which the Australian people will expect to be done to a standard of excellence. Resourcing and organisation should recognise this. There are many first-class capabilities within government but for a major exercise of this kind not all of the skills needed for successful planning and delivery exist to the full extent that is needed—most notably in areas such as cultural administration, marketing, merchandising and communication, including social media. It will also be important for government to draw upon expertise from specialists in the event industry.
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Given the limited time available before the commencement of the Centenary in August 2014, the progressive announcement of elements of the program has allowed implementation planning to get under way, while further proposals are being considered.
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Clearly, as much resourcing as possible should go into the final product, rather than management, logistics and administration, but inadequate resourcing for the latter will become one of the highest risks for the program when Australia moves from the strategic to the operational phase.
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When Australians look back in November 2018 and reflect on what the Anzac Centenary has meant to them, it is vital that they have a sense of pride and greater knowledge and understanding of Australia’s military history and the contribution of earlier and current generations of Australian servicemen and servicewomen to the Australian character.
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If the Anzac Centenary program leaves this legacy, it would have helped carry forward the Anzac spirit and values. This is the aim of the Board’s recommendations.
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