How to do Anzac Day, the culturally diverse way

People of diverse cultural backgrounds often don’t associate Anzac Day and the commemoration of the Anzac diggers with their own cultures. And yet, the histories of countless different cultures are interwoven into the Anzac legend since the beginning.

A child leans out for a better view of the ANZAC parade to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli landings in Sydney on April 25, 2016. Source: AFP

During World War I, many Indigenous Australians and other volunteers of non-European descent ignored the ban that was placed on their enlistment and defiantly signed up for service anyway.

Indigenous Anzacs

The introduction of the Commonwealth Defence Act in 1909, excluded those of non-European descent from serving in the army. Yet, it’s thought that

more than 1,000 Indigenous Australians served

in the Australian Imperial Force during WWI, out of an estimated Indigenous population of 80,000.

Studio portrait of 2949 Private Miller Mack, 50th Battalion. The image has come to be symbollic of Indigenous Australians contribution to the ANZAC war effort Source: Australian War Memorial

For many Indigenous Australians, it was a chance to first earn a wage, says Gundungurra man and National President of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans and Services Association Gary Oakley. However, the hopes of Indigenous Australian soldiers to raise their social status didn’t happen until 1949, when restrictions on enlistment based on race were removed.

Chinese-Australian Anzacs

Australians of Asian descent also ignored the Act, the aim of which was to ensure that Australia retained its white colonial British character and enlisted. One of the legendary soldiers was William Sing, whose father migrated here from Shanghai.

Billy Sing, the most famous Gallipoli sniper, got pretty lousy land on which he could not really make a living. He died a pauper. Professor Edmund Chiu, Melbourne Chinese Museum

Source: Wikimedia/Public Domain

Russian Anzacs

The Russian Anzacs were the largest nationality enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force after British, New Zealand and Canadian-born servicemen. They came from various ethnic backgrounds within the borders of the Russian Empire.

Source: Wikimedia/Shilahov CC BY 3.0

For example, many young Jewish immigrants escaped from Russia because they didn't want to serve in the Russian army, says Dr Elena Govor from the Australian National University.

How you can spend Anzac Day

Anzac Day traditions

Anzac Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day we remember all Australians who served and died in war and on operational service.