The word Anzac is part of the culture of New Zealanders and Australians. People talk about the 'spirit of Anzac'; there are Anzac biscuits, and the two countries’ rugby league teams play an Anzac Day test. The word conjures up the shared heritage of two nations, but it also has a specific meaning.
ANZAC is an acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, a grouping of several divisions created early in the Great War of 1914–18. In December 1914 the Australian Imperial Force and New Zealand Expeditionary Force, both of which had just arrived in Egypt, were placed under the command of Lieutenant-General William Birdwood. Initially the term Australasian Corps was suggested for the combined force, but Australians and New Zealanders were reluctant to lose their separate identities.
What is Parihaka and what happened there?
About 1600 troops invaded the western Taranaki settlement of Parihaka, which had come to symbolise peaceful resistance to the property of Maori land. Parihaka was a vacant area that was owned by the Maori settlement before they were taken over by the European settlers. The place was a symbol of peace because they resisted the colonisation.
