Anzac Day in Queensland

Anzac Day is a day of remembrance in Queensland, Australia. It is a public holiday held on 25 April each year. The date is significant as the Australian and New Zealand troops (the ANZACs) first landed at Gallipoli in World War I on 25 April 1915.

Anzac Day observance in Australia did not begin as a government initiative, nor was it instigated by returned services associations. Indeed, in the lead up to 25 April 1916, the date of the first anniversary of the landing, acting Prime Minister George Pearce was less than enthusiastic about the event, suggesting that the nation might wait for a military victory before setting a date for commemoration.

The idea of an "Anzac Day" had been mooted since shortly after the Gallipoli landing in 1915 and there were a range of events in 1915 bearing that name.

It was in Queensland that the first major organisational endeavours towards an anniversary commemoration began. The Gallipoli campaign resulted in 26,000 Australian injured, including more that 8,000 deaths. The public need to remember this sacrifice resulted in a public meeting in the Exhibition Hall on 10 January 1916, which was attended by many influential public figures including the Premier T J Ryan, the Governor Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams and the Mayor of Brisbane, George Down. As a result of the public meeting, an Anzac Day Commemoration Committee (ADCC) was formed.

"On the 10 January 1916, the Anzac Day Commemoration Committee was formed as a citizen's committee by a mass meeting of people of Brisbane and appointed to make arrangements for, and carry out, the celebration of ANZAC Day as a gift of the people to commemorate the fallen, remember the wounded and recognise the courage of Australia's servicemen."

Although a government agency per se, the committee consisted of Cabinet members, including the Premier, as well as members from the opposition. Its executive comprised a significant number of clergymen, the most energetic and influential being Anglican Canon David Garland. It was under his stewardship that much of the planning of the first and subsequent events was carried out.

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