ANZAC Australia – New Zealand Joint Issue

Overview

This stamp issue commemorates the formation and service of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), which was formed in Egypt in the months prior to deployment to Gallipoli and disbanded following that campaign. This stamp issue has been developed in collaboration with New Zealand. For both countries, an important strand of national identity was formed in the trenches of Gallipoli.

In November 1914, the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops sailed in convoy to Egypt to train for service as part of the allied forces. The men were organised into a single force before being landed on the Gallipoli peninsula as part of a wider British effort to gain control of the Dardanelles and knock Ottoman Turkey out of the war. The Australian and New Zealand troops landed to the north of the British and French at what became known as Anzac Cove. The men consequently became known as Anzacs.

After Gallipoli, the Australian Imperial Force expanded from two divisions to five, while the New Zealanders reorganised to form their own division. ANZAC was disbanded and these formations were reorganised into I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps. The former comprised three Australian divisions, and the latter two Australian divisions and the New Zealand division. Both I and II ANZAC Corps were sent to France, where they fought on the Western Front. In late 1917, the Australian divisions were united under the Australian Corps, while the New Zealanders joined several British divisions that comprised British XXII Corps. In addition to the Anzacs on the Western Front, an ANZAC Mounted Division was formed in 1916 and served in Sinai and Palestine. This comprised three Australian Light Horse brigades and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles.

Australian and New Zealand troops fought alongside each other in numerous campaigns during World War II.

The stamp design brings together contemporary and historical components. Silhouettes common to the two designs show an Australian bugler and a New Zealand soldier of today standing back to back, their poses signalling remembrance of comrades lost in past conflicts. They stand against a backdrop of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, the site at which this military alliance became invested with its legendary status.

Products released in this issue