New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) for World War I. Showing unbelievable courage they stormed the trenches at Gallipoli, Turkey. By the time war ended 60,000 Australians were dead on the battlefields of Europe, but their courage is remembered each year on Anzac Day and many Australians believe the young nations character was forged on April 25, 1915. Australians were praised for the sacrifice but it was the first time many felt that the British Empire s best interests weren t necessarily their own.
In 1923 Vegemite was invented. This international Australian icon
breakfast spread was first made in Melbourne and loved Australia-wide in a prosperous post-war era. However 1929 brought the Great Depression left one-third of people out of work. Times were difficult but the deeds of a horse called Phar Lap kept people s spirits up. This incredible creature won just about everything Australian racing had to offer and earned deity status. Indeed the jockey Jim Pike said There's only one chance they've got of beating him. If they can breed them with wings on and get Charles Kingsford-Smith to ride them. And then I doubt whether they'll beat him then. "Pharlap however was eventually beaten when they took it to America and he was poisoned. The spirit of Pharlap lives on with his hide in Melbourne Museum, his bones in Sydney and his great heart on display in Canberra.Kingsford Smith (1897-1935) was Australia s most famous aviator and in 1931 became the first man to fly solo from London to Australia. Then he flew back. Smith was a superstar of his day for his epic, solo adventures, and he also his creation of the first Australian airline. Another great Australian hero of the era honored at this day by Australians, was the champion cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman once batted for so long that when the English finally got him out the headlines in the papers cried simply He s Out! Bradman finished with the unbelievable average of 99.94 and died in late 2001.Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932, a momentous occasion that drew remarkable crowds estimated at close to one million people (the nation s entire population was 6.6 million). One Francis Edward de Groot, a member of the New Guard disrupted the opening ceremony when, disguised as a military horseman, he slashed the ceremonial ribbon before the Premier was able to officially open the bridge. The incident caused amusement in the crowd (it was arguably the nation s first streak ) and indignation among the authorities. It remains a part...
