Support for the 'mother country' (Britain) was not the only reason Australian men rushed to enlist, other reasons included: Fear that the opportunity for adventure would pass them by if they did not enlist quickly The feeling that it was their 'duty' to enlist The chance to earn higher wages The desire to avoid the disapproval of peers and young women; some women showed their disapproval of men who were not in uniform by giving them a white feather, a symbol of cowardice Hatred of the 'Hun' (insulting name for Germany)

Australian soldiers were unprepared and unaware of what awaited for them at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915, Anzac troops landed 2km north of the intended position Turkish forces were located at the top of the steep cliffs that fringed the tiny landing beach- which later became known as Anzac Cove With artillery at both ends of the beach, the Turkish forces were ideally located to gun down the invaders By nightfall of the first day the Anzacs had advanced about 900m with around 2000 casualties, including 621 dead over the next week another soldiers landed at Anzac cove where they fought to maintain control of the beach and build trenches- All under constant barrage of Turkish fire from distances as close as 30m.

Soldiers armed with entrenching tools and sandbags hastily constructed the trenches and dugouts that would provide them with some protection over the following weeks, dugouts appeared all over the hillsides above Anzac Cove These were the places where the Anzacs ate, slept, wrote letters home, smoked cigarettes and waited until they were called to active duty.

Conditions at Gallipoli tested everyone’s endurance By mid-year the weather had become hot and there were plagues of disease-carrying flies and fleas Supply ships bought in water from Egypt but their was never enough By October, Soldiers were beginning to experience the bitter cold, mud and ice of a Turkish winter Troops who had arrived in peak physical condition soon suffered dysentery, diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and infestations of lice It was virtually impossible to keep clean toilet's were open pits corpse's lay rotting in no-man's land As many as 20% of soldiers were sick due to poor hygiene

It was difficult to escape either physically or psychologically from the war However, soldiers were willing to risk the danger's of enemy fire in their quest for some light relief and the opportunity to feel cool and clean soldiers relaxed by swimming and playing cricket on the beach.

Anderson. M, Low. A, Keese. I, Conroy. J. Retroactive 2 stage 5: Australian history. Third edt. (2000) John Wiley & Sons: Milton Qld.