The Classroom supports teachers and students of various curriculum levels in their study of Anzac Day. These activities and teaching ideas can be used as they are or adapted to suit the particular needs of your classes.
The Gallipoli campaign of 1915 remains a landmark event in New Zealand history. Although it was a grievous failure for the Allies and did not have a significant impact on the war's outcome, the campaign fostered an emerging New Zealand identity, and its effects continue to resonate.
The Anzac Day ceremony of 25 April is a form ofmilitary funeral and follows a particular pattern. The day's ceremonies have two major parts: one at dawn and another, more public event, later in the morning.
The word Anzac is part of the culture of New Zealanders and Australians. The word conjures up a shared heritage of two nations, but it also has a specific meaning, dating from December 1914.
Anzac Day became a public holiday and took on new meaning in a time of peace. It became a time to express sorrow, not glorify war, and was a sacred day that had a secular tone.
This painting of the village of Pas, the Somme 1918, is by N.H. Welch. Note the poppies in the field. See the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association website for information on the significance of the poppy.
The dawn service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, 25 April 1986. The dawn service was introduced to New Zealand in 1939 by Australian veterans who had attended a similar service in Sydney the previous year.
This list of 147 fatalities of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was collated from Commonwealth War Graves Commission records. The exact date of death cannot be verified for 23 of those listed.
