We’ve lost our national identity, says Camp Gallipoli founder Chris Fox. The Anzacs will help us find it

IN a society split by A-list snobbery and grassroots prejudice, this man has the answer — swag. And he’s got an army of star supporters.

AT first flush it is a smart idea for thousands to share the essence of the iconic Gallipoli swag experience — a vigil under the stars, followed by a dawn service — much closer to home.

But to the man behind Camp Gallipoli it is much, much more — a chance for Australians to actively rediscover a positive national identity.

“Australia has lost its identity,” says founder Chris Fox. He adds: “We have gone backwards, we are everything we hated.”

Class divides, cultural prejudice, racism: the businessman and charity executive pulls no punches as he reels off what is holding Australia back in 2014. Flaws, he says, the men at Anzac Cove — who were of many different colours and creeds — would have abhorred.

“Australians still put people in boxes,” he says. “We are tolerating but not accepting of people; Australia is not going to grow as a country until things change.”

So how can a nationwide campout make a difference?

Fox hopes that by thousands of Australians of all ages, backgrounds and cultures coming together at Camp Gallipoli sites across the country on April 24-25 next year, they will reawaken the spirit “forged in that hellish place” that grew to define our nation — the Anzac Spirit.

WHY RACISM VANISHED AT ANZAC COVE

“It’s the power of the human spirit, we came together and it’s now in our DNA,” Fox says. “Australians are trying to search for their identity and we have now found it I think. It’s in us, it’s the Anzac Spirit.

“It’s things like: ‘She’ll be right’, ‘I’ll look after you mate’, ‘I’ve got your back’ — all these sayings that emanated from Anzac Cove.”

A century ago there was injustice, intolerance and prejudice aplenty; a point the amateur historian Fox, who lost six relatives (tragically, all brothers) in the war, makes readily. But, he stresses, it vanished in the melting pot of cultures at Anzac Cove.

“There were 20 different nations represented there. People think it’s this Anglo-Saxon thing, there’s still that perspective that the Poms put us in the wrong place and sent us to our deaths, that’s just wrong.

“One hundred years ago at Anzac Cove not only did all these nations get on, they formed a bond that is now called the Anzac Spirit,” Fox enthuses.

“There was no racism there, there were mates. There are indigenous Australians buried there, there were Indians, Africans, Jewish personnel,” he adds, reeling off more of the nations there alongside the better-known Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, French, Greeks and, of course, Turks.

While the horrific conditions were a perfect breeding ground for anarchy and hate, “this beautiful thing happened” — a bond that all Aussies can celebrate, Fox says, regardless of background.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE CAMPS?

That’s the essence of the good things participants will find at Camp Gallipoli — a project backed by government, the RSL, Legacy and a swag of celebrities. With campsites at major venues in six capital cities — see list below — plus various regional centres, around 100,000 people are expected to take part.

Participants — who are invited to use a swag for Anzac-style authenticity — at each ground will experience an afternoon and evening of themed events, from movies and presentations to live entertainment from stars like Shannon Noll, Samantha Jade and Jon Stevens.

A team of big-names sports stars are also backing the project, from cricket’s Shane Warne and Mitchell Johnson through Olympians Cathy Freeman and Liesel Jones to footy’s Johnathan Thurston. Participants buy tickets and profits go back to Legacy and the RSL.

Each camp will culminate in a dawn service — where the centrepiece will be the Anzac Flame, born into the venue as night falls, to represent the spiritual return of the fallen soldiers.

The Flame’s journey across Australia was launched by three Victoria Cross winners: Ben Roberts-Smith, Daniel Keighran and Mark Donaldson. All three won their medals for bravery in battle in Afghanistan.

“It’s a great idea,” said Corporal Keighran of the project, which will give any profit to Legacy and the RSL. “It’s a chance to get the next generation involved.”

As Fox says, “At a very basic level if we get dads off the couch and kids off their iPhones and computers for one night and that continues, then we have done well.

“But to go deeper ... if we can harness one thing from this, it is to recover what was the Anzac Spirit.”

WHERE YOU CAN TAKE PART

Sydney: Centennial Park

Melbourne: Royal Melbourne Showgrounds

Brisbane: Venue to be confirmed https://www.campgallipoli.com.au/brisbane/

Adelaide: Morphetville Racecourse

Perth: Ascot Racecourse

Regional sites are still being confirmed; there will also be a camp in Auckland. For updates click here

Originally published as We’ve lost our national identity, says Camp Gallipoli founder Chris Fox. The Anzacs will help us find it