Search

Placeholder Content Image

Two-up, Gallipoli and the ‘fair go’: why illegal gambling is at the heart of the Anzac myth

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bruce-moore-291912">Bruce Moore</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em></p> <p>Two-up is an Australian gambling game in which two coins are placed on a small piece of wood called a “kip” and tossed into the air. Bets are laid as to whether both coins will fall with heads or tails uppermost. It is one of the core activities of Anzac Day celebrations - and a beloved tradition.</p> <p>The word <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ANZAC">ANZAC</a> was created in 1915 as an acronym from Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. By 1916 it was being used emblematically to reflect the traditional view of the virtues displayed by those in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Gallipoli-Campaign">Gallipoli campaign</a>, especially as these are seen as national characteristics. This cluster of national characteristics includes mateship, larrikin daredevilry, anti-authoritarianism, and egalitarianism.</p> <p>The game of two-up became indicative of these qualities. Mateship was evident in the way the game brought together people of disparate backgrounds. Larrikinism was evident in the defiant rejection of authority and convention.</p> <p>Two-up was always illegal, because the game is an unregulated form of gambling (although from the 1980s it became legal in most Australian states on Anzac Day). But in spite of the illegality, it was widely regarded as the fairest of gambling games, and at the time of the First World War the verbal command for the coins to be spun was not “come in spinner” (as it is now) but “fair go”. Indeed, the important Australian concept of the “fair go” was in part cemented by its role in the game.</p> <p>Two-up was the common pastime of the urban working-class man, and it feeds into the elements of egalitarianism and anti-authoritarianism that are central to both the Anzac myth and the Australian myth.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458543/original/file-20220419-17-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458543/original/file-20220419-17-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458543/original/file-20220419-17-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=466&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458543/original/file-20220419-17-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=466&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458543/original/file-20220419-17-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=466&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458543/original/file-20220419-17-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=585&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458543/original/file-20220419-17-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=585&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458543/original/file-20220419-17-6mgarp.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=585&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Two original 1915 Australian pennies in a kip from which they are tossed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roland Scheicher/ Wikimedia</span></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Two-up and wartime life</h2> <p>From the very early period of the First World War, two-up assumed great importance among the Australian troops. Soldiers reported that two-up was played on the battlefield during the Gallipoli campaign, even when under shellfire. As the war dragged on, numerous stories were told about Australian soldiers’ obsession with playing it.</p> <p>In 1918 the <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10676229">war correspondent Charles Bean</a> studied the daily life of a company of Australian soldiers stationed at a brewery in Querrieu in northern France.</p> <p>He places great emphasis on two-up, writing in his diary in 1918: "Two-up’ is the universal pastime of the men. … It is a game which starts in any quarter of an hour’s interval or lasts the whole afternoon. The side road outside becomes every evening a perfect country fair with groups playing these games in it - a big crowd of 70 or 80 at the bottom the street, in the middle of the road; a smaller crowd of perhaps twenty on a doorstep further up. … The game is supposed to be illegal, I think; but at any rate in this company they wink at it."</p> <p>Two-up was important not just in taking soldiers’ minds off the realities of the war, but also in creating a strong sense of community. Photographs from the war that show the men playing two-up reveal how it brought them together physically in a communal activity.</p> <p>This helps explains why men, who in civilian life may have had little or no interest in gambling, joined in the camaraderie and fun of the two-up fair, and by so doing blotted out the boredom, isolation, and loneliness of much wartime experience.</p> <h2>Anzac Day and tradition</h2> <p>Playing two-up became an integral part of the diggers’ memories of the experience of war, especially when commemorated on Anzac Day. By the 1930s the playing of two-up outdoors after the Anzac Day march had become an entrenched tradition.</p> <p>As the ranks of diggers from the two world wars declined, so the structure of Anzac Day changed in emphasis. In recent years the Dawn Service has increased greatly in popularity, while the Anzac Day march has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-07/concern-over-australias-dwindling-number-of-world-war-veterans/10911602">suffered from dwindling numbers</a> of veterans. The streets of Sydney and similar cities are no longer dotted with two-up games in the afternoon. The games have shifted to pubs and clubs, and they are largely played by people with no experience of war.</p> <p>Those people who play the game on this day do so not for any deep-seated gambling impulse or because they would love to play the game on every other day of the year. They play two-up because it has become part of the meaning of Anzac Day.</p> <p>Anzac Day has always combined solemnity and festivity. The Dawn Service commemorates the landing at Gallipoli, and the sacrifices that ensued. Its mood is solemn.</p> <p>In the past, returned soldiers reminisced, told war yarns, drank, and played two-up. The soldiers have passed on, but their larrikinism survives in the tradition of the game they have bequeathed to their descendants.</p> <p>We should not underestimate the significance of rituals of this kind—the playing of two-up is a way in which Australians can become not just observers of, but participants in, their history and their myths. Two-up is a ritual that links the present with the past on this one day of the year.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181337/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bruce-moore-291912">Bruce Moore</a>, Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Literature, Languages, and Linguistics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image </em><em>credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/two-up-gallipoli-and-the-fair-go-why-illegal-gambling-is-at-the-heart-of-the-anzac-myth-181337">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Money & Banking

Placeholder Content Image

When I attended the Gallipoli Dawn Service

<p>The Gallipoli Dawn Service is a solemn pilgrimage that gives us an opportunity to pay tribute to our fallen soldiers. When we asked the Over60 Community to share some of their memories from the service, we were overwhelmed by the response.</p> <p><strong>Jim Ritchie looks back on an emotional experience at Anzac Cove</strong>, “Attended the dawn service at Anzac Cove on Anzac Day 2013 while on tour in Turkey. Probably one of the more moving experiences of my life. As the hills over Gallipoli (Gelabolu) became light with the dawn sun the thousands of people were so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop. My imagination could practically see the ghosts of those long ago soldiers wading ashore.</p> <p>It is a pilgrimage for Australians that is akin to Mecca for the Muslim religion. Australians should try to go at least once in their lives. Since going to Gallipoli I have now made myself a promise that, after never attending a dawn service at home, I will try to go to my local dawn service every year for the rest of my life as long as I am able.”</p> <p><strong>Kelly Badrick describes a visit 10 years ago</strong>, “It was the most surreal feeling ever waking up to the Last Post, as the sun rose on the banks of Gallipoli (Canakkale). I felt so welcome and everyone was so helpful and friendly. It should be on everyone's bucket list and I will never forget the experience.”</p> <p><strong>Rhonda Weston found the commemoration extremely rewarding</strong>, “We were at Gallipoli Anzac Day 2005. The long walk in, the dawn service, the walk up the hill to Lone Pine, the service held in the Australian Cemetery are memories that will never leave us. The day before a fellow traveller stepped off our bus, walked into the water and played ‘Amazing Grace’ on his bagpipes. I get goosebumps every time I think of it. My husband’s Grandfather fought at Gallipoli.”</p> <p><strong>Megan Holleran says</strong>, “I've been to the dawn service in Gallipoli, one of the most moving experiences of my life, even wore my dad’s medal. The walk to lone pine afterwards was bloody hard work, can't believe those brave boys did it in lousy weather and carrying a lot more weight.”</p> <p><strong>Jim Hare went a few years ago</strong>, “Spent the night on the beach before attending the dawn service and other services for the 75th anniversary in 1990. A very moving experience.”</p> <p><strong>Anne Henderson hasn’t been to the service, but found a great alternative</strong>, “I was in Ypres, Belgium in 2012. Dawn service in Polygon Wood at the Anzac War memorial, and later 11am service at the Menin Gate, followed by a battlefield tour, which included Hill 60. Brendan Nelson was Ambassador to Belgium at the time and met him at breakfast in a school hall, along with Ben Roberts Smith and David Hurley. A very emotional day and a great alternative to Gallipoli or Villers Breteneux.”</p> <p><strong>Nina Elloy has been and plans to go again</strong>, “Yes I have, it was on my bucket list so my daughter took me but promised I would not kick the bucket for many years! I think I'll go again is year (10 years later). To Kings Park dawn service, it was beautiful, so many people, but pin drop silence.”</p> <p>Have you ever attended the Gallipoli Dawn Service?</p>

International Travel

Placeholder Content Image

Our guide to the Gallipoli dawn service

<p>On the 25th of April, 1915, soldiers from Australia and New Zealand landed on a remote beach on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli. It was hoped they would defeat the Turkish army swiftly and change the course of the First World War. But, after a bloody and fruitless eight months, the troops were evacuated and the campaign deemed a failure.</p> <p>Though the Gallipoli campaign itself achieved little, it was responsible for one of the most enduring elements of Australian culture, the Anzac legend. April 25 was declared Anzac Day in 1916 and every year since, thousands of people have come to that same beach to commemorate their sacrifice. The Anzac Day service at Gallipoli is a once in a lifetime experience.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35661/image__498x245.jpg" alt="Image_ (209)"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Anzac Military Cemetery in Gallipoli.</em></p> <p>Gallipoli is around five hours from the Turkish capital of Istanbul and almost all attendees for the service come as part of an organised tour as there is almost no public transport available. As space is limited, tours book out very quickly so it is a good idea to plan your trip up to 12 months in advance. It is essentially impossible to simply arrive on the day and attend.</p> <p>To be in place in time for the dawn service, most tours will arrive the night before and guests will sleep under the stars. In previous years, some attendees have chosen to drink heavily and have failed to treat the site with the proper respect. Authorities have cracked down on this and alcohol is now prohibited on the site. The crowds are kept entertained overnight by the Australian Army and Navy Band as well as choirs.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35662/image__498x245.jpg" alt="Image_ (210)"/> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Anzac Memorial in Gallipoli.</em></p> <p>The services begin as the sun rises over the battlefield. There is a minute’s silence and the Last Post is played, as well as the national anthems of Australia, New Zealand and Turkey. Once the wreaths have been laid, guests can attend the individual country services held around the site. Spend the rest of the day exploring the many cemeteries and memorials around the site.</p> <p>Have you ever attended the Gallipoli dawn service? Share your experience with us in the comments below.</p>

International Travel

Placeholder Content Image

100-year-old Anzac artefacts stolen and recovered in hours

<p>A veritable treasure-trove of World War I artefacts has been uncovered in the small central Queensland town of Emerald. The handwritten documents were produced by Private James Nicholas Murray, and include what are thought to be the most detailed maps of the time of Russel’s Top, a critical line of defence in the eight-month long battle at Gallipoli.</p><p>Private Murray, a licensed surveyor used only a compass and a piece of string to sketch out the trenches and tunnels above Anzac Cove, also recording his thoughts in a small diary. All this while under fire.</p><p>The documents were unearthed and recognised for their importance by Margaret Rawsthorne, a researcher from the Emerald RSL, and Murray’s grandson, Mark Murray, also a surveyor. Murray (the younger) had kept his grandfather’s work stored in a chest of drawers for years until s Rawsthorne asked to see it.</p><p>Not long after the documents were discovered and being prepared for display, a thief broke into Mark Murray’s office, making off with the entire collection. With public assistance and quick work by local police forces, however, all the documents were returned safely.</p><p>After visiting Emerald to inspect the maps and diary, Captain Andrew Craig, who is in charge of commemorating the Anzac Centenary in Queensland is now exploring ways to digitise the maps and field notes so that the public can access them.</p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-26/anzac-james-nicholas-murrays-untold-story-discovered-in-emerald/6042422?section=ww1" target="_blank">You can explore Private Murray’s map here.</a></strong></span></p><p><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-26/an-entry-from-private-james-nicholas-murray27s-diary/6042684" target="_blank"><em>Image credit: ABC</em></a></p>

News

Our Partners

Over 60

© Copyright 2024 OverSixty.All Rights Reserved.