Governments showering Anzac Day with money while Remembrance Day fades

Anzac Day is hogging the limelight and a focus on Gallipoli to the exclusion of other historic conflicts is overshadowing Remembrance Day, a Flinders University historian says.

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Anzac Day is hogging the limelight and leaving Remembrance Day in the shade, according to a Flinders University historian.

Romain Fathi said November 11 – marking the end of World War I – had slowly become “the least popular opportunity to reflect on war and sacrifice”. Meanwhile, commemorating Gallipoli had become increasingly popular.

Flinders University Australian history lecturer Dr Romain Fathi. Picture: AAP Image/ Keryn Stevens

Dr Fathi, an Australian history lecturer, said Remembrance Day crowds had dwindled while governments spent an “excessive” amount of money glorifying Anzac Day.

“When the Shrine of Remembrance was dedicated in Melbourne in 1934, it included an aperture in its dome for a ray of sunlight to shine through on Remembrance Day, at the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month,” he said.

“The unveiling of the Shrine was attended by 300,000 people.

“Since the 2000s, however, crowds at official Remembrance Day state services in Australia have rarely exceeded just a few hundred people.”

In his book, The Great War: Aftermath and Commemoration, Dr Fathi points out that it is still a major event in Western Europe.

“Will Remembrance Day endure in Australia?” he said.

“Or will it disappear as World War I fades in our memory, with Anzac Day as the main focus to remember Australian service in conflicts?”

Originally published as Governments showering Anzac Day with money while Remembrance Day fades