Spirit of Anzacs

This year continues the 100 year commemoration of the Anzacs involvement in World War I. The current Sprit of Anzacs exhibition, has a free entry at Darling Harbour till 27th April 2017. It is worth going and was certainly an eye opener. You get an audio tour smart phone which knows which room you are in and talks about it! Then you can tap and download items of interest markers on the wall into the device which you can email it to yourself when you are finished!

61,514 Australians died in the War that was supposed to end all wars. The Anzacs found themselves in northern Africa, Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. The amount of destructive forces that was used in the conflict was mind boggling! To think this all started from an assassination of one man!

Not only were soldiers dodging bullets and shells, and getting diseases, but they had to deal with gas attacks. It was a cruel way to die. The mustard gas would burn your lungs away. There were depictions of life in trenches with maggots found in food, and soldiers dying from diseases rather than from bullets. The crowded conditions meant diseases could spread quickly. Trench mouth was an awful gum disease as a result of a compromised immune system and very poor oral health. This still happens today with drug taking and poor care of one’s self.

The light horsemen were made up stockman and many who worked on the land. 500 of them attacked the Turks in a famous piece of Anzac history.

Remember Australia became a country in 1901. The country was an early adopter of new technology, the telephone, and many new industries were established. Then WW1 took away a generation of men forever.

Lest We Forget

Next week: The Anzacs Go Home – Then and Now