Perspectives
Australian soldiers during World War 1 were famous for their loyalty and tenacity as well as their reputation for being 'diggers'. The true reason to why they were dubbed this is unknown. However, there are 4 theories about this that are highly likely. The first theory is that the men who enlisted from Western Australia were gold or tin miner hence why the name travelled with them to Gallipoli. The second was that at Gallipoli you had to dig a hole to survive. Many holes were dug which resulted in trenches being formed. The survivors would have to constantly re-dig the trenches. The third theory was that the name was spread from the New Zealand division to the Australian division. The name was first coined when the New Zealand Pioneers were working on building the communication trenches. The final theory is that it is simply just attributed to the trench digging activities during World War 1 (Harris, 2013) . Regardless of the theory, Australians still became famous for their digging with England using that term to describe an Australian not a 'Kiwi' (somebody from New Zealand).
Perspectives on the war at first were positive due to propaganda. Propaganda is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of the community toward some cause or position by presenting only one side of an argument. Propaganda statements may be partly false and partly true. In this case, citizens were told that they would dominate the other side if they joined and that they needed more soldiers to fight for country. As a result of this, many men started enlisting with the reasons varying. Some wanted to see the world. Some wished to fight for England out of pure loyalty. Other wanted to show the world how Australia could contribute to a world conflict. Others however were opposed to the war. Several people argued that it was not Australia's war to fight in and that a young country could do little to contribute to the overall outcome. Other people were opposed because they were pacifists (someone who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable). Various Australians were also afraid or they did not want to enlist because they believed it was wiser to stay home due to an economic advantage.These people used excuses like poor health or family responsibilities to avoid enlisting (Carrodus, 2013)
Perspectives on the war at first were positive due to propaganda. Propaganda is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of the community toward some cause or position by presenting only one side of an argument. Propaganda statements may be partly false and partly true. In this case, citizens were told that they would dominate the other side if they joined and that they needed more soldiers to fight for country. As a result of this, many men started enlisting with the reasons varying. Some wanted to see the world. Some wished to fight for England out of pure loyalty. Other wanted to show the world how Australia could contribute to a world conflict. Others however were opposed to the war. Several people argued that it was not Australia's war to fight in and that a young country could do little to contribute to the overall outcome. Other people were opposed because they were pacifists (someone who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable). Various Australians were also afraid or they did not want to enlist because they believed it was wiser to stay home due to an economic advantage.These people used excuses like poor health or family responsibilities to avoid enlisting (Carrodus, 2013)