Inventing Anzac: The Digger And National Mythology

Abstract

This is chapter 9 of Inventing Anzac: The Digger and National Mythology by Graham Seal. Anzac and the digger lie at the centre of Australian national identity. Separate but intertwined, their respective traditions have generated and maintained a potent mythology that becomes more embedded in Australian culture each April 25. Through an examination of the folk traditions of the digger and the institutional tradition of Anzac, this book traces the origins and development of that mythology in the culture and everyday life of Australia in both war and peace. Inventing Anzac draws on a variety of documentary, folkloric, literary and media sources to present a fresh view of the national mythology. This includes excavating the origins and development of Anzac Day itself, the distinctive culture of the digger and the continuation of digger lore into World War Two and Vietnam. The book concludes with a contemporary case study of the continuing power of Anzac to connect everyday Australian life and belief with the long-ago but not forgotten landings at a place called Gallipoli. Graham Seal is Associate Professor in the Australia Research Institute at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia. His published works deal mostly with cultural history and folklore in Australia and internationally.

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