As we discuss in episode 35, the very first commemoration of ANZAC Day was in Adelaide in 1915.
The Eight Hours Day (Labor Day) holiday on 13 October was given over to celebrate the men who had landed at Gallipoli earlier that year, and those who had sacrificed their lives.
Organised as a fundraiser, the day was intended to empty people’s pockets (as was written in The Advertiser of the day) to help support the wounded men who had returned.
The day’s events comprised a procession through Gouger Street, Rundle Street and King William Street, which culminated with a carnival at Adelaide Oval.
Other states and regional centres subsequently held similar events, until it was proposed in Queensland that ANZAC Day be commemorated on 25 April, an idea that was adopted nationally from 1916.
Filming the spectacle
Adelaide photographer and cinematographer Harry Krischock captured footage of the day’s festivities, and the film was aired at the Wondergraph picture house in Hindley Street.
You might remember us talking about one of Harry’s other films, Our Friends, The Hayseeds in episode 31, and we also discussed the Wondergraph picture house in episode 26.