Gallipoli Today

Gallipoli is now an important symbol for Australia’s involvement in the first World War and a place of tribute for all those who lost their lives in the battle. Their deaths have not been in vain and slowly, we are learning to appreciate the effort they put in so that we can have a better, more peaceful future today.

People attend the service at the Lone Pine Australian memorial in Gallipoli.

We now commemorate our losses with two important dates in our calendar: ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day. On April the 25^th, we Australians go by the custom of a minute’s silence to remember those who died in the war. We also hold a traditional Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance and have been doing so since ANZAC Day in 1923. Come Remembrance Day, we commemorate the death of our loyal soldiers with red poppies and another minute’s silence to remember the ending of the first World War, of the suffering at the time.

Red poppies are a symbol of Remembrance Day , but they are closely associated with ANZAC Day.
Red poppies grew wild on the European battlefields of WW1.

The horror of the Australian soldiers’ massacre in Turkey will forever be remembered as a cruel and dark time, and because of its disastrous landing plans, it will always remain a significant part in our Australian history and to many Australians. An Australian official correspondent by the name of Charles Bean claimed that our landing in Gallipoli cemented this sense of Australian nationhood, of identity. We Australians would not be who we are today if it were not for those many brave soldiers.

Lest we forget.