MyANZAC Day
Surveying the meaning of Anzac Day ceremonies across the world
Today Anzac Day is being marked at many different locations all around the world. This survey is part of a project exploring the meaning and history of Anzac Day.It involves researchers in Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, France and Turkey and will mark the Centenary of the Gallipoli Landing.
Simply, the purpose of the study is to find out what these ceremonies mean to the people attending. MyANZAC day invites you to add your voice to History.
Your co-operation in completing this survey form is gratefully appreciated.You need not record your name and any report/publication will use pseudonyms unless otherwise requested.
There is no set answer length; please feel free to write whatever you wish.
A Profile
Your response to these brief questions will help us to create a profile of Anzac Day attendance.
Age:
20 & under / 21 – 30 / 31 – 45 / 46 – 60 / 61 – 75 / 76 – 90 / 90 +Sex: Male/Female
Have you yourself had any military service?
When did you first attend an Anzac Day service/ceremony?
Do you usually attend by yourself or with your family or friends?
Please tick/circle the Anzac Day events you plan to attend year:
• Dawn service
• Gunfire breakfast
• March
• Post-march ceremony
• Church memorial
• Unit service/commemoration
• Sunset service
• Other
What other commemorative events do you attend (e.g. Remembrance Day)?
What does Anzac Day mean to you?
Your response to these ten questions will help us to understand why Anzac Day means so much.
People attend Anzac Day for many different reasons. Which of the below option/s best captures your reason for attending an Anzac Day service and why? Please feel free to number, tick or add comments.
• Honouring the war dead
• Remembering the human tragedy of war
• National pride
• A Connection with History
• A pilgrimage to honour/remember a family member
• Other: (Please state your reason)
Are there particular values you associate with Anzac Day? Can you name these?
Do you have a family connection with Anzac Day? How did you learn about that connection?
Some people have claimed that Anzac Day glorifies or sentimentalises war. How do you respond to this claim?
Which part of Anzac Day do you find most moving?
What did you think about when called upon to observe a minute’s silence?
How would you compare your most recent Anzac Day service with others you’ve attended? Is there one particular year’s service that stands out for you and why?
Please answer this question if you are an Australian:Do you consider Anzac Day Australia’s national day – if so, why, if not, why not?
Please answer this question if you are a New Zealander:Anzac Day is very important to Australians and New Zealanders. In what ways is Anzac Day special to New Zealanders (and do you think you might observe Anzac Day differently to Australians)?
Please answer this question if your birthplace was other than Australia or Aotearoa/New Zealand.Why did you choose to attend an Anzac Day service?
My Pilgrimage
Please answer these five questions if you have attended an Anzac Day or made a pilgrimage overseas (or if you intend to). If not you can skip to the next section.
Do you have a family member or friend buried or commemorated in a war cemetery overseas? If you do, can you describe them and your relationship to them?
Does your nurse/soldier/sailor/airman have an epitaph on his/her grave?Do you know how it was chosen?Are there any other family stories you wish to record?
Many visitors leave their own tribute:graves and memorials are often covered with wreaths, paper poppies or even photographs.Did you leave any such tribute?Is there anything you would like to have left there?
Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women were buried thousands of miles from their homeland.Did your visit to these war graves on Anzac Day change the way you saw yourself as an Australian or New Zealander or how you view Australia or New Zealand?In what way?
The overwhelming majority of Australia’s and New Zealand’s war dead were men.Gender identity (like national identity) is a theme of many epitaphs: they did their duty not just as soldiers but also as men.How did you respond to this appeal to manhood?Can you say how it affected you as a woman or a man?
Recording Your Testimony
Here you can say how you would like your words preserved and remembered.
Name (Optional)
Address (Optional)
Phone (Optional)
Email (Optional)
Home town in Australia or New Zealand:
Nationality if you are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen:
The Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the Historial on the Somme and several other state/national archives have already expressed interest in collecting and preserving these questionnaires.Would you like your questionnaire to be placed in such a collection? YES/NO
To protect the privacy of individuals, pseudonyms will be used in writing up this history of war, grief and commemoration.Would you be happy to have your real name used?
YES/NO
Would you be available for interview? YES/NO
May we use an (unidentified) extract from your questionnaire on the AnzacRemembered Website? YES/NO
Did you keep a diary of your travels to pilgrimage sites? YES/NO
Who else can we send this survey to?
Is there anything else you would like to add?THANK YOU
ANZAC Day in Christchurch
Have you served in the armed forces? If so, please provide details.
In your view, has ANZAC Day changed since the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-11? If so, how?
Have you felt differently about ANZAC Day since the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-11? Why or why not?
Does it matter to you that ANZAC Day commemorations are no longer held in Cathedral Square or on the Bridge of Remembrance? Why or why not?
Three years after the earthquakes, Christchurch is often described as "in transition" or "temporary". Do you think these descriptions apply to ANZAC Day commemorations in the city, and why or why not?
What do you hope for future ANZAC Day commemorations in Christchurch?
How do you feel about other commemorations in post-earthquake Christchurch?
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