April 25th every year Australia stops to celebrate Anzac Day.
It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.
The diggers landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders.
They were evacuated at the end of that year after eight months of stalemate, fierce fighting, and appalling loses.
Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed.
The legend of Anzac was born on the beaches of Gallipoli.
April 25th was officially named Anzac Day in 1916 as an occasion of national commemoration.
But did you realise that the word Anzac is copyright?
Originally, of course, it simply meant the “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps”.
But so deeply has this word entered into the consciousness of our nation that there are laws, passed way back in 1920, that control and protect its use.
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs administers the protection of the word Anzac, and the minister’s approval is needed for the use of the word in connection with any “trade, business, calling or profession, any entertainment, lottery or art union, any building, private residence, boat or vehicle, or any charitable or other institution”.
Even Anzac biscuits are protected by law.
Well, not so much the biscuits as the name of the biscuits.
And, by the way, Anzac is no longer an acronym – it is now officially a word: that means the “A” is upper case and the rest of the letters should be lower case.
As for the biscuits—they are made out of oatmeal, golden syrup and coconut; and are one of Australia’s national foods.
During World War I the wives, girlfriends and mums of the Australian soldiers used to make these biscuits to ship over to their blokes.
They were originally called Soldiers’ Biscuits, but after the landing on Gallipoli, they were given their present name.
In the recipe for Anzac biscuits from the Australian War Memorial there are no eggs.
Why? Because apparently in the war, most poultry farmers had joined up, so eggs were scarce. Golden syrup took the place of eggs as the binding agent in Anzac biscuits.
The latest issue of The Spectator Australia is in newsagents now. On the front cover is a cartoon of Russian leader Putin and China's leader Xi -- and in the back is my 'Language' column. And in this issue be sure to read Rowan Dean's editorial 'Lest We Forget' -- it's a little ripper.
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If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
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