George Davis
George Davis, a mature PhD student in the Department of History, is investigating the changing perspectives of Anzac Day, focusing primarily on the different developments of the day in New Zealand and Australia.
He believes that, with the publicity surrounding the passing of old diggers from the world wars, more young people are intrigued with Anzac Day and are drawn to the ritual.
"For many it would be one of the first community rituals they become aware of that has a spiritual component - it's a kind of civic religion of New Zealand. Here is something greater than themselves that forms part of the way they think about themselves and their country," says Davis.
"It forms a ritual as much as Christmas does these days. Maybe it's connected with a loss of spiritual awareness, but it seems to fulfil a need. It is extending and including whole families."
Different nationalities feel differently about the Anzacs. For New Zealanders, the word refers to Kiwis and Australians, but most Australians do not consider the Kiwi involvement, says Davis. "In Australia there has always been an exclusive, proprietorial feeling. This may be a sweeping generalisation, but seems valid."
Davis' family has seen military service from the Boer War to World War Two. However, there are no personal ties to Gallipoli, so his own visit to the historic battleground raised no ghosts. But the emotional experience of the site was not lost on him.
"It's always been an emotional setting, especially since Atatürk's famous speech about Anzacs in 1934 saying ‘Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well'.
From that day, Australians and new Zealanders have occupied a special place. The Turks, who have benefited from tourist traffic and greater acceptance by Western nations, are gracious hosts.
"Anzac Day began in reaction to events in Gallipoli in 1915. It became established in the British Empire and Commonwealth, and embedded in the social fabric of New Zealand and Australia.
By the end of the 20th century, media focus of the day turned to Turkey - to the Gallipoli commemorations. It is impossible to understand it fully without appreciating the role Turkey has had in the creation and development of the day.
"For the Turks, Anzac Day is part of victory celebrations over the French and British fleets on 18 March 1915. It is mandatory for all Turkish children to visit what is considered the birthplace of the nation. It creates huge physical difficulties for the infrastructure - roads, transport and accommodation - but interest is very strong. In 2006 three million Turks visited."
Davis met Turkish Gallipoli scholars in Çanakkale and researched London archives. He hopes to submit his PhD in the new year. He says that, unlike any previous academic work on this subject, it will compare the development of the day in the two Anzac nations.
"Most previous writing confines Anzac Day nationally, with brief mention of the other nation's attachment to the day found in footnotes or the final pages. There is a need to address this omission for it seems illogical, if understandable, that an event that began in union of trans-Tasman forces is most widely recognised in an exclusive and unilateral national framework."
Equally, it will provide an analysis of the changing role of Turkey in Anzac Day celebrations, a change which Davis says reflects the political and social changes in all three countries.
"An event which grew out of conflict in Gallipoli 90 years ago has returned to the site of its conception in the form of a significant pilgrimage and offering, in its process of development, directions for reconciliation."
FUNDING
NZVCC Claude McCarthy Fellowship
University of Otago Division of Humanities Postgraduate Research Grant
Education New Zealand NZPSA Award
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Grant