Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

On that day, seventy-six years ago, 12 000 Australians, together with British and New Zealand troops, landed on a bare stretch of coast on the Gallipoli Peninsula in an attempt to open up the Dardanelles to the navy, so that Constantinople, as Istanbul was then named, might be blockaded and Turkey forced out of the war. They failed, but the essence of what happened at Gallipoli marked a turning point for a young country only fourteen years after it had come into existence. On those inhospitable beaches these soldiers had their first real insight into what it meant to be an Australian. They felt a sudden sense of unity in the face of an awesome challenge, and they knew that at last they were members of a nation. For eight long months they were fated to endure the most appalling hardships, fighting and suffering under conditions far worse than they could ever have imagined. By the time they were evacuated, 8 700 of them had died. And yet through it all they managed to maintain their high spirits, their sense of humour and, above all, their humanity. The war correspondents of the day could scarcely believe that this was possible and wrote about it with wonderment. One of them, writing in the Melbourne Argus on 5 October 1915, ended his despatch with a simple and touching example: A few evenings ago, Iwatched a party come out of the front trench to spell. They were dirty, hot, tired, hungry, thirsty and generally 'fed up'. They were carrying the equipment of dead mates back to the depot. One had caught a helpless little bird and for ten minutes they all delayed upon the road, each offering the others advice as to what might be best for its comfort. They laughed and chatted like children. 'Had a hard day?', I asked. 'Not too bad', one answered, 'I only got two, but my mate hit four'. Then he went on trying to give the bird a drink from his lips. After killing Turks all day, these men could still pause in the evening to give comfort and succour to a wounded bird. Out of these terrible months three quintessentially Australian characteristics had their being: • First, mateship--transcending religious, social and ethnic barriers, it is a peculiarly Australian adaptation of the words from the Gospel according to St John: 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends'. • Second, a reluctance to accept authority based merely on position, but a readiness to accept it when it is based on performance. • Third, a striving for heroic achievement in all things, not just in battle but also in sport, in the arts, in science, in medicine. Australians have constantly over the years echoed Browning's words, 'Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for'. These qualities have helped to make Australians what they are today... 1 147