English Breaker Morant Essay topic: Statement of Intention: The most primary reason why I decided to express my views creatively upon this issue, of the film Breaker Morant by Bruce Beresford, is that the order made clear by the British High Command sent out to the Bushveldt Carbineers was bitter and simple. To fight the Boer on its terms, and to take no prisoners. Such an order could prove fatal, especially to Lieutenant Harry Breaker Morant, who was dishonorably used as a scapegoat for the British Empire to appease political conflict between Germany at the time. Throughout this writing piece, I hope to give insight to the audience in what thoughts feelings would have gone through the Australians minds, especially Lieutenant Harry Breaker Morant. „h I lieutenant Harry Breaker Morant, state to you all today, as god as my witness, in the fight for justice, that my actions and behavior did not at any time breach those of orders given to me by the British High Command during periods of combat. However it was ironically clear that the corrupt jury did not listen, appreciate, or respect Handcock, Whitten or myself in the one eyed courtroom. It was as if we Australians where playing a tails, on a double headed penny, there was no possibility of victory. „h My survival, honour and safe return home was all but a fading light at the end of the tunnel. It was clear that they wanted me to fight the Boer, but also to be used as a bloody scapegoat for the bloody empire, I lieutenant Morant, leader of the special group, the Bushveldt Carbineers. I guess that us Australians fighting for the Empire was not a privilege, but a bloody scam, a set up, we were fooled. „h There they where watching us fighting such inhumanly, to take out as many of the enemy as possible, and to return none, that was the order and we did nothing but follow it. Something the British where to afraid to do, and we Australians where demanded to endeavor. „h Well they tricked us all right, they tricked us good, of course this would never be the case if our superior Captain hunt was alive for t he court trail. He was given the order directly from the mouth of the bloody English. Without our skipper, we have no evidence to prove our innocence, they all been sent to bloody India.
“The war correspondent is responsible for most of the ideas of battle which the public possesses … I can’t write that it occurred if I know that it did not, even if by painting it that way I can rouse the blood and make the pulse beat faster – and undoubtedly these men here deserve that people’s pulses shall beat for them. But War Correspondents have so habitually exaggerated the heroism of battles that people don’t realise that real actions are heroic.”
“On the other side of our barbed wire fence were twenty or thirty Aussie men – as skinny as us – and wearing slouch hats. Unlike the Japs, they had hairy legs. And they were standing in rows – serenading us.”
”[2] Ultimately, the final decision, without any approval of Parliament[3] was to support the Imperial request. This was Canadian army’s first major overseas campaign. However, the decision to participate in Boer war resulted in a vast range of problems for a young country. First of all, the war had nothing to do with Canadians, it further increased conflicts between French-English Canadians, resulted in many other home front problems and even after all the efforts, Canadian contribution was not fully recognised.
Stacey, C. P. Six Years of War: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific.
Parks, G. (2005). The Importance of the Battle of Long Tan. Retrieved May 28th, 2014, from City of Parramatta RSL Sub-branch: http://www.parramattarsl.com.au/rsl9/BLTI.htm
Australia (as a counry) felt a loyalty towards the 'mother country', Britaain and that the war would be a good opportunity to improve Ausrtalia's international reputation. Many individual Australians also joined the war for a variety of reasons. Some felt a strong loyalty to Britain who had supported Australia, and now, they felt, was the time for them to 'do their bit'. Others enlsted simply to prove they were brave enough to fight, but some enlisted because their friends had. Some simply enlisted because they needed a job, pay, and regular meals, but many enlisted in the army for an adventure, not knowing the true horrors of war. Private A.J. McSparrow (former railway worker from Parramatta, NSW), was one of the many men whwo enlisted because he felt that it was his duty to support the 'mother country' ..."I have (enlisted) ... and I don't regret it in the very least. I believe that it is every young fellow's duty" and "... we are the sort of men who should go."Private Antill enlisted because he needed the money, clothes and food and also because it was easier work than cabinet making ..."I tell you what I have just joined the Australan army ... it's not bad money here 5/- a day and clothes and food that's nearly as good as cabinet making and not half as hard."Lieutenant D.G. Armstrong (former bank clerk from Kyneton, Victoria), thought that the war would be great opportunity to prove his strength and to show that he was not a coward..."I am going to have a try for the war ... I think I ought to go, they want all they can get and ... I think it's the greatest opportunity for a chap to make a man of himself, those that come back from this war will be men of the right sort that anybody would be proud of.
middle of paper ... ... The willingness of the Australian people to volunteer and help out in the war effort was outstanding. Australians also showed great pride and allegiance to England. One of the problems with people being so ready and willing to volunteer is they didn’t fully understand the realities of war.
Peter Weir’s 1981 film Gallipoli can in every sense of the phrase be called an ‘Australian classic’. The impact and effect this film has had upon the psyche and perspective of several generations of Australians has been significant. Whilst it can be argued that every Australian is aware of the ANZAC legend, and the events that occurred on the Turkish beaches in 1915, Weir’s film encapsulates and embodies a cultural myth which is now propagated as fact and embraced as part of the contemporary Australian identity. The film projects a sense of Australian nationalism that grew out of the 1970’s, and focuses on what it ‘means’ to be an Australian in a post-colonial country. In this way Gallipoli embodies a sense of ‘Australian-ness’ through the depiction of mateship and through the stark contrast of Australia to Britain. A sense of the mythic Australia is further projected through the cinematic portrayal of the outback, and the way in which Australia is presented in isolation from the rest of the world. These features combined create not only a sense of nationalism, but also a mythology stemming from the ANZAC legend as depicted within the film.
‘Australia is at War’ is a primary source from the year 1939 and is a speech by renowned Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies (1894 – 1978). This speech was delivered at the beginning of World War II declaring Australia’s participation and assistance to its “Mother Land”, Great Britain. World War II was developed and initiated by the infamous Adolf Hitler, a notorious German leader and the head of the Nazis. German’s invasion of Poland initiated Great Britain’s move towards force rather than their original approach of negotiations and peace, as stated in Prime Minister Menzies’ speech, “they [Great Britain] have kept the door of negotiations open; they have given no cause for provocation.” So the purpose of this source, Menzies speech, which was broadcasted on national radio, was to inform Australia of the drastic measures that were to be taken against Germany in the defence for their Mother Land. As Australia had only pronounced federation a mere thirty-eight years earlier, Great Britain was still referred to as the “Mother Land”, as it was still greatly depended upon it, concluding that when Great Britain had declared war upon Germany, as a result, Australia too was also at war. From Australia’s contribution to Great Britain began the rise of varies army reinforcement groups such as AIF (the Australian Imperial Force), RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force), RAN (Royal Australian Navy) and many more.
In the nineteenth century, the “History wars” became the fight between the most prominent historians revolving around the deception of frontier conflict between the labor and coalition. The debate aroused from the different interpretations of the violence that took place during the European colonization and to what degree. It became a crisis in history, emerging from the dispossession of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) that resulted in exclusion of their traditions and culture. The ATSI were the first people of Australia that brought along a different culture, language, kinship structures and a different way of life (Face the Facts, 2012). Post European colonization was a time where the ATSI people experienced disadvantage in the land they called home. With the paramount role as future educators, it demands proficient knowledge on the Australian history and one of the most influential moments in our history started from the first European settlers.
The play ?The One Day of the Year? gives a very strong message about two very different views of the meaning of Anzac Day. The reader of the play is ...
I did not tell you this before, but your mother-in-law had sent me a dozen white feather with a chit, explaining her disappointment in me as a British man when she had heard that I had not yet enlisted. Moreover, seeing the posters of children crying at the hands of Alleymen had only poured more fuel into my burning hatred for our enemy. I had enlisted to protect my country; to make sure that my family had a bright future, free of restriction and Alleymen. When I had first arrived in Europe, I was filled to the brim with confidence in our army’s ability to tear down any Alleyman that had come in sight. Thoughts of victory flooded my conscience when taking my first steps into the land. Excitement had also built
The Fall of Singapore was perhaps the biggest failure for the British army. Singapore was meant to be an impregnable naval base for the British army, it was also vital to Australia’s security because it acted as a first line of defense. On February 3rd the Japanese began attacking Singapore using air attacks. Britain responded to the attack by using the coastal guns on the island but were ineffective against the planes. On February 8, the first Japanese landings began on Singapore's northwest coast. The Japanese were met by the Australians but they were forced to retreat by midnight. On February 13 the coastal guns Singapore’s strongest defensive weapons were destroyed. Tactical miscalculations and poor communicati...
For many soldiers and volunteers, life on the fronts during the war means danger, and there are few if any distractions from its horrors. Each comradeship serves as a divergence from the daily atrocities and makes life tolerable. Yet, the same bonds that most World War literature romantically portrays can be equally negative. James Hanley’s “The German Prisoner”, shows the horrifying results of such alliances, while “Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemmingway reveal that occasionally, some individuals like Lieutenant Henri seek solidarity outside the combat zone. Smithy of “Not So Quiet” and Paul Baumer in “All Quiet on the Western Front” demonstrate the importance and advantages of comradeship while giving credence to the romance of these connections. Pat Barker’s “Regeneration” depicts Siegfried Sassoon, as an officer who places comradeship and honor above his own personal anti war convictions. Regardless of the consequences, each demonstrates not only the different results of comradeship but also its power and level of importance to each character in the abovementioned writings.
On Bloodsworth’s appeal he argued several points. First he argued that there was not sufficient evidence to tie Bloodsworth to the crime. The courts ruled that the ruling stand on the grounds that the witness evidence was enough for reasonable doubt that the c...