Monument and ceremony: The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial and the Anzac legend

Following the demise of the original members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) – the veterans of Gallipoli and World War I – Australian prisoners of World War II are emerging as the inheritors of the Anzac legend. This legend holds up Anzac troops’ mateship and defiance of authority in adverse conditions as exemplars of national character.1