“DARDANELLES DAY.”

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 56, 6 July 1915, Page 4

“DARDANELLES DAY.”

Undoubtedly readers will thoroughly endorse the fine spirit oi the following letter to tiie editor of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, suggesting the commemoration of Our Boys’ heroic deeds ■ at the Dardanelles; One thing out-* stands in every cable and every letter we have read of the doings in Gallipoli—that is, that April 25 is the most sacred and glorious anniversary that Australasians may celebrate. It ought, by Acts of Parliament in every State of the Commonwealth, and also by the Parliament of the Dominion of] New Zealand, to be for ever set apart as a day for the commemoration of the valor of those who fought there, forj the renewed consecration of the mem-: cry of those who died there, and for' the astounding triumph that our soldiers achieved. No other day is more worthy of honor. Not even our King’s Birthday, for no celebration of that anniversary ever brought greater honor to our King than our men did in their battle for kith, kin. King, and country, on that terrible Sabbath. The anniversary should not bo called “Australia Day,” for that would seem to exclude Tasmania and New Zealand, and they have an ample share in its glory. Let it lie called “Dardanelles Day,” or if the dominant emotion is reverence for those who fell and sympathy with those who mourn the sacrifice that bravery impelled, let it be “Commemoration Day.” But, whatever its name, let it be by Act of Parliament, acknowledging Australasian gratitude and attesting Australasian patriotism, the greatest of all days and all holy-days for ns.