the first anzac day service was held in 1916.
the first anzac day service was held in 1916.
where was the first anzac day service held?
1916
anzac day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for australian and new zealand forces during the first world war. the acronym anzac stands for australian and new zealand army corps, whose soldiers were known as anzacs. anzac day remains one of the most important national occasions of both australia and new zealand; however, the ceremonies and their meanings have changed significantly since 1915. according to dr martin crotty, a historian at the university of queensland, anzac commemorations have "suited political purposes right from 1916 when the first anzac day march was held in london and australia, which were very much around trying to get more people to sign up to the war in 1916–1918."
anzac day
the first anzac day in nsw was organised by a committee within the returned soldiers association (rsa) of nsw, an organisation formed by men who had been invalided home. later the organisation was subsumed by the returned soldiers' sailors' (and airmen's) imperial league of australia (rssila), finally named the returned and services league (rsl). the original objectives of the day of commemoration were to remember dead comrades, induce young men to enlist and collect money for an anzac memorial monument. nsw premier wa holman's labor government promised a pound for pound subsidy to match the money raised on the first anzac day. in 1917 the rssila requested that 25 april be declared 'australia's national day' and gazetted as a public holiday. both the queensland and australian governments made anzac day a public holiday in 1921. the official public holiday was first gazetted in nsw in 1925.
anzac memorial