The First Anzac Day – 13 October 1915

About this episode

This episode explores the first Anzac Day event held in South Australia on 13 October 1915, which featured a colorful military parade and aimed to raise funds for wounded soldiers.

While history tells us Anzac Day started on 25 April 1916, the first such event took place six months earlier in South Australia. The name 'Anzac Day' was coined for this colourful military parade and pageant, staged in Adelaide on 13 October 1915, which was usually reserved for the Eight Hours' Day public holiday. The first Anzac Day was to raise funds for wounded soldiers – and a forgotten Aussie was even credited with coming up with the name! So, what did this Anzac Day look like? Why did it feature not only marching soldiers and wounded veterans, but cavemen, prehistoric animals and even a fiery tram stunt? How was it that this Anzac Day came to be forgotten? To see footage of the Burra Anzac Day: https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/anzac-day-history-marches-and-traditions The Critic newspaper photos are here: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page23520895 See Forgotten Australia live! "Crashes, Chases and Crooks in Melton History" – as part of the Melton Heritage Festival. More info and free tickets: https://libraryevents.melton.vic.gov.au/event?id=209608 Forgotten Australia supporters get early ad-free access to all episodes, along with bonus shows and a podcast shout-out…

People in this episode

Host: Forgotten Australia

Topics covered

• Anzac Day
• Australian history
• military parades
• fundraising events
• forgotten history

Keywords

• Anzac Day
• South Australia
• military parade
• fundraising
• historical events
• forgotten history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Critic

Places: South Australia

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