Commemoration in Australia: A memory orgy?

Abstract

Australia's commemorations of the First World War have thus far been massive at both the government and local levels, reflecting and affirming the dominance of the memory of war and the ANZAC ‘legend’ in the national political culture. The commemorations in 2014–15 triggered some debate about the commodification of the memory of war and the possibility of commemoration fatigue, but the centenary of the key commemorative event, the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April, attracted large crowds and blanket media attention. Whether Australians of culturally diverse backgrounds engaged with these centenary commemorations, and how strongly they identify with the ANZAC legend as the dominant narrative of Australian nationalism, however, remains unclear.澳大利亚对一战的纪念迄今在政府和地方层面都大张旗鼓，反映并肯定了在国家政治文化中战争记忆以及澳洲军团传说的岿然不移。2014-15年的纪念活动引发了关于战争记忆被商品化以及纪念疲劳症的辩论，虽然一些关键事件如4-25的加里波利登陆的百年纪念日吸引了大众以及媒体的关注。不过文化背景各色各样的澳大利亚人士是否都参与了这些百年庆典，他们在多大程度上将澳洲军团的传说当做澳大利亚民族主义的主流叙事，这些都不清楚。