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Editorial
Our Anzac Tradition
Australia as a nation is very young,
but in the turbulent first half of the
twentieth century it has no cause to
be ashamed of the contribution that it
has made in the struggles that have
beset the world.
That "Australia will be there - " has
been no idle catch-cry. Small contingents
of troops went to the Boer War,
and in the struggle of 1914-18 our
Prime Minister pledged "the last man
and the last shilling" to Lloyd George.
It was in this first mighty global war
that Australia underwent what has become
known as her "baptism of fire"
on the precipitous heights of Gallipoli
and as a result, in association with her
New Zealand brothers across the Tasman,
a new word, that of "Anzac,"
came into the English language.
Anzac is a proud word, for its symbolises
the sacrifices of some of the
finest youth of both our countries on
those tragic shores. It was not unnatural,
therefore, that this word
should be forever perpetuated in
Anzac Day, one of the most significant
in our calendar.
In World War II, the Anzac tradition
was as bright as ever and with
the peace, Anzac Day became even
greater as it commemorated the service
and sacrifices of yet another generation
of Australians.
With the withering of the peace
and the advent of the cold war, came
Korea, and more Australians fought
and froze on the bleak and 'precipitous
battlefields of this faraway land.
In the last few days the "Fighting
Third" Battalion, which has been absent
from these shores for some years,
has marched through the streets of
Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne as
yet another proof that the young men
of the nation are always ready and
willing when they really feel that it is
time that something should be done,
to halt unbridled aggression.
These men have been engaged in a
war that was small by previous standards,
but which could easily have
become much greater, and' with the
shaky peace that officially terminated
it, they tended to be forgotten as with
a sigh <?f relief that the spectre of
World War III had temporarily receded,
the world dropped back into
its selfish apathy.
It is men like these who, forsaking
home and family'to fight our battles
on distant shores, give real service to
their country. Let it be hoped that
there was a re-awakening in the heart
of every person who witnessed this
fine body of men, that there are more
important things in life than how
much beer can be consumed and for
how long.
Every nation requires tradition, for
it is such timeless handing do\y% of
ideals in this way from generation to
generation -that preserves our national
heritage. Anzac Day is in no danger
of ever being overlooked in this land
of our6, but many feel that it could
be extended to have an ever greater
significance in the national life.
The Anzac Festival Committee was
formed some years ago by the Anzac
Fellowship of Women to foster the
tradition of Anzac, and to niain
tain the memorial character of the
Continued on page 32.

EDITORIAL.
Contimied from- page 1.
day, and its work continues through
the untiring efforts of a fine Australian
in the person of Dr. Mary Booth.
Ansae Day, with the Dawn Service
and the March, is intimately woven
into the fabric of Australian life. It
will forever be our saddest, yet our
proudest day.

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