ANZAC and Relationship Between Australians and New Zealanders

In the “Anzac Peacekeepers: The Relationship Between Australians and New Zealanders in Truce Monitoring Group, Bougainville” Baird discusses the significance of Anzac for the direct descendants particularly those Australians and New Zealanders who participated in the joint mission of Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) in Bougainville. The author highlights the rivalry relations among the soldiers and variance in operational styles between Australia and New Zealand. However, the author asserts the existence of competitiveness in the relationship, she posits that each time within a joint army mission, the Anzac has restarted the sense of cooperation.

Following the joint mission of Australia and New Zealand corps in Gallipoli in World War I, the national identities and history of both countries have been significantly impacted by the Anzac. Baird explores that the perception of rivalry developed a coldness relationship between the two forces prior to the Anzac, but the pressure of engaging with the reality of war in Gallipoli, led Australian and New Zealander soldiers to collaborate. Some pieces of evidence are brought to prove the idea of this double-sided relationship including the Australian war historian Charles Bean, who affirms the existence of coolness relationship in Cairo at the commencement days of the campaign in Gallipoli.

The author claims that in coalitions, military operations are generally led by major partners who are normally wealthier nations, but in Bougainville, the TMG was led by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF).  Furthermore, the author identifies dissimilarities in approaches between the two forces in Bougainville and brings the example that Australian Defence Force (ADF) had a rather safety oriented approach including the exigence of 24 hours’ communication and reliable transport facilities more than their New Zealander counterparts.

The perception that New Zealander’s were thought to be more disciplined and obtained a higher cultural understanding of the Pacific region is also assessed in details. The author paraphrases the academic work about New Zealand history by Philippa Mein Smith, in which the New Zealanders are mentioned to consider themselves inheriting more British discipline than those of undisciplined and violent Australians. Baird mentions that there has been a long history of an unexamined belief that New Zealanders’ have superiority in cultural sensitivity which could be interrelated to New Zealanders less involvement in re-colonising and dense population of Māori and Polynesians in that country. The author urges that the New Zealand’s Pacific advantage was taken for granted by many people except few considerate individuals from both nations, therefore, she contends that the notion of Australians having a lack of culturally sensitive and thus New Zealanders Pacific advantage is a wrong label.

As a peer-reviewed essay, the points of this work is clear and it is well-argued. The thesis is reinforced with a relatively comprehensive relevant shred of evidence and examples. The author concludes that the Australia and New Zealand mission in TMG evidenced that one cannot take the Anzac relationship for granted but it is also emphasised that foreign pressure on combating moments always led soldiers from both nations to renew the overall achievements of solidarity and pride of Anzac on the ground. 

Although this essay is sufficiently argued and the conclusion seems quite reasonable but one can hardly ground Anzac’s continuation, to such a large extent, on mere foreign pressure during the wars. The legitimacy of Anzac tradition demands a rather comprehensive historical consideration as its renewal may not be limited to only extrinsic factor such as foreign pressure during the wars. The ANZAC tradition may have rooted deep in history and its concomitant aspects include a long history of British supervision on soldiers of both nations, English language, and the neighborhood of both countries. 

Reference:

Baird, Rosemary (2012). Anzac Peacekeepers: The Relationship Between Australians and New Zealanders in the Truce Monitoring Group, Bougainville, History Australia,
9:3, 199–221.