Busting the Anzac myth – Winter Uniken out now
Has a national obsession with Anzac hijacked centenary commemorations of the Great War? Read the full story and more in the latest issue of Uniken.
Published on the 13 Jun 2014
Our Winter Issue cover story, Busting the Anzac Myth, investigates how a national obsession with Anzac has hijacked centenary commemorations of World War One.
Australia is spending something in the vicinity of half a billion dollars on the centenary commemorations, says UNSW Canberra’s Professor Jeffrey Grey, one of Australia’s leading WWI experts.
Grey is quoting the price tag calculated by former Australian Army officer and UNSW alumnus James Brown in his book Anzac’s Long Shadow. Brown writes: “At the War Memorial in Sydney’s Hyde Park, inscribed words decree: ‘Let silent contemplation be your offering’.
“Instead, Australians are embarking on a discordant, lengthy and exorbitant four-year festival for the dead.”
Grey agrees, warning myth making is replacing historical inquiry. “If Australia’s centenary observance is little more than a four-year long Dawn Service, replete with all the hackneyed cliches and self-serving a-historical mythology trotted out each Anzac Day, it will be a monumental waste of time and money.”
Also in our Winter Issue, we look at the researchers using a new generation of powerful microscopes to uncover the mysteries of life; we showcase the 3D animations helping patients come to terms with their illnesses; and, as the “beautiful game” kicks of in Rio, we ask “Is the World Cup worth dying for?”
For all the latest stories, go to the Uniken website.
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Contact: Steve Offner, Editor, 02 9385 1583
