The PR Blog

It has often been said that Australia arrived at Gallipoli as six separate States and returned as a nation with a distinct identity. The cost of that transformation was steep. Of the more than 50,000 Australians who served during the 260-day campaign, 8,159 lost their lives – 5,482 killed in action, 2,012 who died of wounds, and 665 from disease.

To armchair revisionists, these may appear as mere statistics. They are not. They were men -  sons, brothers, and mates -  who died for their country and now lie in a distant land.

Recently, a young man I know, preparing for the HSC, was asked to examine the claim that Australia discovered its identity at Gallipoli, weighing both traditional and revisionist perspectives.

The traditional view is often dismissed as a version of history shaped to suit a comforting narrative, while the revisionist view claims to present events as they truly occurred. In advancing that argument, it is suggested that Australia’s first war was fought on its own soil against Aboriginal peoples, and that, in any case, Gallipoli ended in defeat.

What such interpretations overlook is that, until Federation in 1901, Australia was not a unified nation but six separate British colonies, each with its own government, laws, and even customs barriers. By the time of Gallipoli, the Commonwealth had existed for just 14 years – a nation in name, still finding its identity in practice.

On This Night, 251 Years Ago: A Warning Rode Into the Dark

251 years ago tonight - on 18 April 1775 – a Boston silversmith mounted his horse and rode into the darkness.

His mission was simple, urgent, and dangerous: warn the colonial militias that British Regulars were marching out of Boston to seize stockpiled weapons at Concord - and possibly arrest key patriot leaders.

A signal had already been arranged in the steeple of the Old North Church - one lantern if by land, two if by sea.

The rider was Paul Revere. And he was not alone.

Joined at different stages by other riders, including William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, the warning spread across the Massachusetts countryside. Farms, villages, and militia groups were alerted in time.

By dawn, when the first shots rang out at Lexington and then Concord, the militias were ready.

The war had begun.

It has been truly said that Australia arrived in Gallipoli as six separate States and returned as a Nation with its own national identity. In achieving this, of the over 50,000 Australians who served at Gallipoli during a period of 260 days, there were 8,159 deaths in total, comprised of 5,482 killed in action, 2,012 deaths from wounds, and 665 deaths from disease.   

To the armchair Revisionists, these are merely numbers and not men who gave their lives for their country and are buried in a far-off land.  

Recently, a young man I know preparing for the HSC had to write an essay contrasting the saying that Australia discovered its identity at Gallipoli from both a traditional and revisionist viewpoint.

The traditional viewpoint is said to be a statement of history favourable to the march of civilisation with the facts altered to suit, while the revisionist viewpoint is said to be a statement of what actually happened according to the facts. In order to promote the revisionist viewpoint, it was pointed out that the first war fought by the white Australians was with the aboriginals, and in any event, Australia was defeated at Gallipoli.

What the Revisionists ignore is that until Federation in 1901, the present Australia consisted of six separate British colonies, each with its own Governor and laws, even in relation to customs duties between the States-to-be. By the time of the Gallipoli campaign, Australia had only existed as a nation on paper for 14 years.