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Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 Screening Anzac : Anzac-themed Television in Australia and New Zealand during the First World War Centenary
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  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Journal of Australian Studies vol. 44 no. 4 2020 20835187 2020 periodical issue 'In March 2020, as the dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic became increasingly apparent, Prime Minister Scott Morrison rallied Australians for what would be “the toughest year of our lives” for many. 1 “We must not let fear overtake us,” Morrison said, as he summoned “the spirit of the Anzacs, of our Great Depression generation, of those who built the Snowy, of those who won the great peace of World War II and defended Australia” in his effort to inspire and reassure. 2 The following month, in the lead-up to Anzac Day, Morrison observed that this was not the first time commemorations had been disrupted by a pandemic; in 1919, parades for returned soldiers were cancelled due to the Spanish influenza outbreak that killed around 12,000 Australians, and as many as 20 million people globally. The prime minister urged Australians to find “COVID-safe” ways of commemorating Anzac Day: “I look forward to the entire nation, on their driveways, lighting up the dawn, remembering our heroes and drawing inspiration from them for the task and challenge we currently face.”' (Carolyn Holbrook, Margaret Hutchison, Editorial introduction) 2020 pg. 440-456
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