ANZAC Day 2014

“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. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us. Where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours … You mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away the tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace after having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well.”

Turkish President and Gallipoli veteran, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1934)

Part of experiencing the cultural aspect of our cruising life is to help celebrate holidays unique to countries we visit. We first heard of ANZAC Day when we visited Pitcairn Island way back in 2009. We didn't fully understand the meaning of the day, but did sample some special cookies that were associated with the holiday. It wasn't until we were in New Zealand that we realized the significance of the holiday. Now, we are here in Australia and it's April 25^th, ANZAC Day again.

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, known nowadays as ANZACs, joined the British allied forces in Europe to fight in WWI. They boarded ships here in Albany and landed at Gallipoli, gateway to the Ottoman Empire with the objective of capturing the capital city of Constantinople and providing access to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. They arrived in Gallipoli on April 25^th, met heavy resistance and suffered major casualties in their 8-month long, unsuccessful campaign. During the 1920s, ANZAC Day became established as a National Day of Commemoration for the 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders who died during the war. At almost 65%, the Australian casualty rate (proportionate to total embarkations) was among the highest of the war. Subsequently, the day has come to be a national day of remembrance to commemorate all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served." It is very similar to Memorial Day or Veteran's Day in the USA and the associated ceremonies are just as moving.

Albany, in particular, is commemorating this ANZAC Day in a big way. Troop ships departed from Albany back in November 1914 and for many men, this city was the last place in Australia that they saw. There's a prominent memorial at the Albany Anzac Peace Park downtown and several centenary commemorations are taking place here on ANZAC Day this year.

As we drove up the road to Mount Clarence, we felt a rise of emotion as we passed by the grove of trees that line each side of the road. A small plaque stands beside each tree, a memorial to a solder who had fallen in military service.

At the car park at the top of the hill, we noted fencing at the entrance to the stairs leading up to an iconic memorial. We politely ignored the “keep out” signs, skirted around the fence and proceeded up the steep, stairway. (Yes, we are scoff-laws … no need to point it out!). We did so with the intent of seeing the ANZAC Desert Mounted Corps Memorial situated on the very top of the mount. We were told that the striking statue represented a mounted Australian soldier assisting a New Zealand soldier whose mount had been injured. A bit of further research indicated this might not be the case. It is, instead, an Australian and a New Zealander dismounting to enter battle on foot. The purportedly “wounded” horse is actually Bess, the only New Zealand horse to return home after the war. Interestingly, the original statue stood in Port Said, Egypt and was destroyed. This statue is a copy of the original and a second copy stands in Australia's capital city, Canberra.

Anzac biscuits (we call them cookies) have long been associated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps of WWI. Some claim the biscuits were sent by wives and mothers to soldiers abroad and because the ingredients did not spoil easily, the biscuits kept well during naval transportation. Though they're available commercially on supermarket shelves today, I plan to bake some in honor of ANZAC Day.

Here's the recipe … and man, are they ever good!

ANZAC Biscuits

Recipe Type: Cookie

Cuisine: Australian

Author: Marcie Connelly Lynn

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups rolled oats ¾ cup (175 gr) butter or margarine
• 1 ½ cups flour 3 Tbsp golden syrup
• 1 ¼ cups sugar 3 Tbsp boiling water
• 1 cup shredded coconut 2 tsp bicarb/baking soda

Instructions

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Melt butter and syrup* together.
3. Mix boiling water and soda.
4. Blend into butter mixture and pour over dry ingredients.
5. Mix well.
6. Place rounded teaspoonfuls on lightly greased trays/cookie sheets. Allow room to spread.
7. Bake in a slow 300F / 150C deg) oven for 15-20 mins. Watch them … they burn easily.
8. Loosen while warm and leave on trays for 5 mins, then transfer to wire rack.
9. Makes 2 trays of 16 biscuits.

Notes

Golden syrup is not readily available in the USA. The following seem to be reasonable substitutions … honey, maple syrup, molasses or a a mix of ½ dark corn syrup and ½ brown sugar.[br][br]Thanks Catherine, Kay and Pauline for providing ANZAC biscuit recipes to share.

3.2.1290

66th Annual Huon Show

It seems that a celebration as big as a birthday should not be confined to a single day and so it was that the celebration continued. The 66th annual Huon Show was recommended to us as a “real” Tasmanian show. Americans would know it as a county fair. It was overcast, but we were still in celebration mode, so off we went to the Ranelagh show grounds near Huonville. There was that air of expectancy and excitement as we walked past the animals being unloaded from crates, trucks and vans. All the critters were coiffed and ready to compete. We could hear the noise from the midway. The earthy aroma of manure blended with the odor of deep-fried carnival food, permeating the morning air.

I had read a short program description and we were most interested in the competitive woodchopping events. Huon pine is endemic to Tasmania and lumbering was a huge industry here when the early “piners” exploited the stands of this slow-growing, long-living, durable tree. The modern sport of woodchopping is said to have had its birth in Ulverstone, Tasmania in 1870 as the result of a £25 ($50) bet between two axemen as to who could first fell a tree. The world's first woodchopping championship was held in 1891 at Bell's Parade, Latrobe, Tasmania, now the home of The Australian Axemen's Hall of Fame and Timberworks. Though similar lumberjacking competitions take place in the US, we'd never attended one.

How could we have known how many events would be involved in a woodchopping competition? There was chopping, sawing, climbing, felling ... singles, doubles, jack and jills, relays. Handicaps were assigned to contestants in most events. This was serious. We'd watch, then wander off to admire draft horses or check out the goats and pigs, horse jumping or dog's playing flyball, then come back for more woodchopping events.

The most exciting event was the three-board tree felling competition. The axemen ascended a standing pole by making scarfs (notches) in the side of the pole into which they wedged narrow planks to stand on, working their way to the top of the pole. At the top, they chopped a wood block half way through, then scampered down, removing the planks as they descended. They started the whole process again on the other side of the pole to complete the chop through of the block at the top. We were exhausted watching the energy expended during this competition that lasted only a few minutes.

We watched as blue ribbons were presented to the best-fleeced alpacas, the cutest cows, the most handsome roosters, the tastiest cakes, the best contribution by a senior citizen (??), the highest jump by a dog … there was absolutely no lack of high end entertainment. A country-western band crooned throughout the day...hopefully they had not given up their day jobs. One display was entitled “Old Bits and Pieces”. We couldn't tell if “old bits and pieces” referred to the old men sitting around or the various old machines that chugged away next to them.

There was a midway in small town carnival fashion offering huge plush toys in exchange for beaucoup bucks and the opportunity to test your skills. We could hear the screams from the kids getting whipped around in the more adventuresome amusement rides. All sorts of food was offered. Tornado potatoes, spirals of deep fried potatoes on a stick, were popular. More Tasmanian offerings like salmon burgers and Valhalla ice cream had waiting lines. Kids were sticky with fairy floss (cotton candy) and cranky with fatigue and too much sugar by day's end.

The show lasted only one day and was breaking down by 5pm. The finale included a “ute muster” (lots of pick-up trucks on display...wow!) and a Grand Parade in which horses, cows, alpacas, pigs, sheep, trucks, tractors, lawn mowers and basically anything capable of moving in line, participated. There were even wood chippers and wooden boats on trailers for this grand event.

All in all, a fine way to end my annual celebration. Wonder where we'll be next year at this time?