In 2020, in the midst of COVID lockdowns, ANZAC Day was unlike any other in living memory. The day was observed with a special online event with Professor Bruce Scates, ANU historian, author and producer of the series ‘Australian Journey’. In the broadcast, Bruce presents a vivid look at how our nation remembers war, and tell the stories of men and women touched by it.

The Inaugural ANU Anzac Day Address was broadcast in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

It is dedicated to all Health Care Workers,
in our time and another,
who nursed the sick,
comforted the dying,
and whose courage and compassion gave hope to the world

Acknowledgements

The Australian National University gratefully acknowledges the partnership with Monash University, the National Museum of Australia and other cultural institutions and individuals that made ‘Australian Journey’ possible. Full attributions can be found at australianjourney.anu.edu.au

Special thanks to the Australian War Memorial, the National Library of Australia, the State Library of Victoria, the Victorian Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Tour and Wikimedia Commons for access to images.

These clips employed the sound tracks ‘From Truth’ by Dexter Britain, https://dexterbritain.co.uk (with permission) and Mary Finsterer’s composition ‘Villers Bretonneux’, performed by Llumin Music, Macgowan Films and the Australian Broadcasting Commission (with permission).

We also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Anzac Memorial, the Shrine of Remembrance, the State Library of Victoria, the City of Adelaide, the communities of South East Gippsland and the Indigenous custodians of the land where this documentary was made.

In 2020, Bruce Scates was awarded a Fulbright 70th Anniversary Scholar Award to examine the commemoration of the Great War. This documentary is the first of its scholarly outcomes and the support of the Fulbright Commission is gratefully acknowledged.

Slide credits in order of appearance

Previous and first slide, Anzac Peace Park, Albany. Photographs Bruce Scates.
Morning Post, 26 April 1927.
The Sun, 26 April 1926.
Sydney Mail, 3 May 1919.
Photograph of Pte Thomas Charles Scates and Family, AWM PR00245.
Walker’s Ridge from Plugge’s Plateau, Anzac. Photograph Bruce Scates.
Sydney Mail, 30 April 1919.
HMAT Boonah, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HMAT_Boonah.jpg
Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial, Albert Park. Photograph Bruce Scates.
Hilda Williams, courtesy Earle Seubert and the Friends of Woodman Point Recreation Camp (Inc).
Australasian, 3 May 1919.
Memorial Woolloomooloo Gates, DG ON4/2026, State Library of New South Wales.
Women’s Memorial Fountain. Photograph Bruce Scates.
Women’s Memorial Fountain (detail). Photograph Bruce Scates.
Mrs Simons drinks from the Women’s Memorial Fountain, Sydney Mail 3 May 1922. Additional slide features departure of HMAT Ajana in 1916, AWM PB0084.
Memorial raised to the mark the departure of the First Contingent, Albany Highway, Photograph Bruce Scates.
Australian War Memorial, Photograph Bruce Scates.
Three slides Meanyin Memorial, full view; Anzac Day Service, 25 April 2019; detail. Photographs Bruce Scates. Slide above, Beach at Anzac, Photograph Bruce Scates.
Dedication slide: Napier Waller window, AWM, Photograph Bruce Scates;
Staff Canberra Hospital, courtesy Dr Amshu Rao.