The acronym itself was probably devised at Birdwood's headquarters by a New Zealand clerk, Sergeant K.M. Little, for use on a rubber stamp. Some time later it was taken on as the telegraph code-word for the corps. Consisting of the 1st Australian Division and the New Zealand and Australian Division (under Major-General A.J. Godley), the corps made its operational debut at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. The small cove where Australian and New Zealand troops landed was quickly designated 'Anzac', and the word was soon being used to describe all Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought on the peninsula, and eventually any Australian or New Zealand soldier of the First World War.
On
the Western Front there were two Anzac corps, with the New Zealand Division
serving in II ANZAC Corps until early 1918. During the Sinai-Palestine
campaign the combined Australia and New Zealand Mounted Division was more
commonly called the Anzac Mounted Division. The Anzac Corps was briefly
resuscitated during the campaign in Greece in 1941, while New Zealand and
Australian infantry companies combined to form an Anzac battalion during
the Vietnam War.
As an adjective the word was soon being
used to describe items ranging from biscuits to buttons. Shrewd entrepreneurs
saw the commercial advantages of the term, but there was strong popular
opposition to such exploitation. On 31 August 1916 the word 'Anzac' was
protected by law to prevent its exploitation for business or trade purposes.
Anzac continues to denote both a distinctive
nationalistic spirit of sacrifice and courage. Whereas in New Zealand the
word retains its connotation of Australian - New Zealand kinship, there
has been a tendency in Australia to take the NZ out of the acronym, and
to use the word to denote purely Australian endeavour in the First World
War. In both Australia and New Zealand Anzac Day, on 25 April, is the main
day of remembrance for the fallen in all wars.
A draft from the forthcoming Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History, edited by Ian McGibbon assisted by Paul Goldstone. To be published by Oxford University Press on Anzac Day 2000.
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