Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This year marks the 100th year of remembrance of the Gallipoli campaign. We ask, 'Why do we remember Gallipoli over so many other events?' Many more Australians fought and died on the Western Front in Belgium and France later in the Great War, as the First World War was known at the time. So why remember this event? Some say it was the birth of our nation on the battlefield—a place where Australians began the long-held and long-revered Anzac legend. What happened to the first Australian volunteers who landed at Gallipoli helped form attitudes and beliefs about our nation and national character. The campaign became a symbol of Australian national identity—honour, sacrifice and pride—as a reference to those who gave up their lives so we may live ours.

The landing in Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915 was catastrophic, as was the entire Gallipoli campaign, which claimed the lives of 8,709 Australian men. Out of this campaign, the Anzac legend was born. The battle of the landing itself lasted from 25 April to 3 May, when Australians and New Zealanders, assisted by Indian Army troops and the British Royal Naval Division, drove back a number of strong Turkish counterattacks and formed a defensive line in the unhospitable terrain.

In the official history, Charles Bean, an Australian war correspondent, wrote about the rough country of the Gallipoli peninsula. He described confusing slopes, perpendicular crags and gorse-like scrub. He said:

The growth was stubborn, and, in the steep gravelly waterways with which the hillside was scored, it was as much as a strong man could do to fight his way through it, to say nothing of carrying his heavy kit and rifle.

By the end of the first day the Turkish defenders held the high ground. Charles Bean went on to say:

Bullets struck fireworks out of the stones along the beach. The men did not wait to be sent, but wherever they landed they simply rushed straight up the steep slopes.

After his experience of Gallipoli in the First World War Charles returned to Australia determined not to let the sacrifices of the men be forgotten and he became a driving force in the development of the Australian War Memorial.

The Gallipoli Peninsula saw other fierce battles, such as Lone Pine, or what is known to the Turkish soldiers as the ridge of blood. Australian soldiers so far from home were fighting for their lives and for those few acres of precious advantage. In three days of hand-to-hand combat more than 2,000 Australians and 5,000 Turkish had died there. Seven of the nine Victoria Crosses awarded to Australians at Gallipoli were won there alone. For a young nation this is why 25 April has become the focal point, as we remember all those who have served this country throughout all wars.

My electorate of McEwen has a long, rich military history in the Mitchell Shire. I am honoured to represent the Puckapunyal Army base, which was used as a mobilisation and training area during World War I. It is the home of the famous Light Horse Park, the Military Heritage Weekend and of course the Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk. This year was a special year as our communities paid tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Great War and the Anzac landings. We launched the book There was a soldier who wandered far away, which was written by talented local Karen Christensen. It talks about, for example, the story of Lieutenant Leslie Cecil Maygar, the very first Australian to win the Victoria Cross. He was born in Wandong. It is the stories of our local men and women, as written about in this book, which really show our inherent and strong connection to the Anzac story. With this year's marking of the centenary of the First World War it is especially important for our generation and future generations to remember our Anzacs.

The last of our veterans from the First World War have all since passed on, but their story will live on through us. I am extremely proud to say also that my electorate has a large Turkish population, who have made Australia home. Every year I attend the Turkish community's Anzac dinner. We sit together and remember not as enemies but as brothers and sisters. I believe something unique came out of Australia's conflict with Turkey. We did not go away seeking revenge, full of hatred. Instead, a mutual respect grew that blossomed into a friendship. So today we break bread and we remember those who fought the infamous campaigns. We gather as two strong friends with a 100-year history of strong and committed friendship, forged from mutual respect and a shared desire to better the lives of our nations.

For two different reasons Gallipoli became important to both nations as a means of nation building—Australia forged its identity through loss and sacrifice and Turkey, through its success, provided support for the commander who went on to found modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk wrote a tribute to the Anzacs at Gallipoli—the famous words: 'Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace.' The words of Ataturk have lived through the ages, probably the strongest words of reconciliation to a former foe ever spoken.

My own family has a strong connection to the battles at Gallipoli. My hometown of Whittlesea's honour rolls list the names of family ancestors who served in World War I and II. Thanks to Brian Membrey, who compiled the Shire of Whittlesea's Great Honour Roll, I can read some of the names. Frank Kummer was killed on 25 October 1917 of wounds in France. He was the brother of Harold MacNee, DCM and Military Cross, who also fought gallantly throughout the First World War. Then there is Kenneth MacNee. Kenneth MacNee's death in casualty lists appeared under Whittlesea, where the memorial has another variation with incorrect spelling. It was noted that he was a nephew of the Mitchell boys. Research later revealed that they were the sons of Councillor Charles Mitchell. MacNee was wounded in the head and the right forearm in August 1916 and repatriated to England before rejoining his battalion in February 1917, when he was killed in action.

Keith Mitchell died on 25 April 1915 on the Gallipoli Peninsular in Turkey. An eyewitness said that he was shot through the neck on the first ridge around 300 yards inland. He was originally classed as missing in action until a court of inquiry held in January the following year claimed that he was digging trenches for the stretcher bearers leading onto Anzac Beach, and he was taken to a dressing station but he passed away.

Victorian RSL President Major General David McLachlan says the Turkish were an honourable enemy. The Turkish RSL subbranch was put in place because of the special relationship between Australia and Turkey. David says that First World War veterans saw the Turkish soldier as being an honourable enemy. That is why we proudly meet every year with the Turkish subbranch of the RSL, chaired by my good friend Ramazan Altintas.

There are many stories. Anzac was our first story in a long history of Australian battles. Let us go forward and look at the Korean battlefield. Reg Saunders, the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the Australian Army, led his company of diggers down from a bloody Korean battlefield. 'At last,' Saunders wrote, 'I felt like an Anzac and imagine there were 600 others.' The 3rd Battalion Royal Australia Regiment was gallant in retreat at Kapyong Valley. It had played a magnificent part in the battle. It made sacrifices: 32 diggers were dead. On a hill across from Kapyong Valley the 2nd Battalion fought the Chinese onslaught. There were many people there on that day but, importantly for me, there was Leo Whidbourne who, along with the other four Bren gunners, received an American citation for the work that they did in defying the 10,000-strong Chinese onslaught.

The Korean War was largely overlooked in the 20th century. It is remembered only as the forgotten war. In recent times, however, there has been a remarkable change. On the veterans' calendar is Kapyong Day. PM Gillard rightly described it as a crucial battle, placing it alongside Tobruk in the annals of Australian military history. Leo Whidbourne was the grandfather of my family friend Sharon Dopper.

We go on to those in Vietnam. We pay our respects to the 62,100 men and women of this country who put their hands up to fight in the Vietnam War. Over the past few years I have come to know and appreciate many of their stories. It reminds me of the sacrifices that they made. It was one of the poorer episodes in our nation's history. Our young men and women who responded to the government's call to arms were somehow held responsible by many for the political decision to enter that war. The protests that should have been aimed at the government did hurt our men and women and also their mates who had returned home. There is no escaping that, even if it was not the intention of the Australians who protested at that time.

I have read a lot of books in relation to the Vietnam battles and one of the things I appreciate was a story by David 'Stretch' Bryan. Inside Northcote High School is a small brass plaque dedicated to the memory of a former student. That former student, Les, was a good friend of David and was the first Nasho killed in Vietnam. 'Stretch' wonders today whether present students even notice the small plaque or know about the life it represents—the life of a former student, a brave soldier, a friend and a Nasho. We owe the families and friends of all those who fought in our name a great deal of honour. Every year I remind crowds at our service: 'When you see a person with medals on their left breast, go up to them, shake their hand and say thank you, for without them and their courage and sacrifices we may not be here to do what we do today.' The story of Anzacs on the beaches of Gallipoli is the first chapter in the stories of our fighting men and, as much as we would like to close the book on conflict, sadly each and every day new chapters are continuing to be written.

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