The outbreak of war was greeted in Australia with great public enthusiasm. After four and a half months of training near Cairo, the Australians departed by ship for the Dardanelles, specifically the Gallipoli Peninsula.
The Australians and New Zealanders landed at what became known as ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915 where they established a fragile foothold on the slopes above the beach.

During the early days of the campaign, the Allies tried to break through the Turkish lines but the Turks defended their positions strongly. The ensuing stalemate continued for the remainder of 1915. The most successful operation of the campaign was the evacuation of the troops in December 1915.

See a contemporary article about the song in The Advertiser 26 July 1917.

The Oxford companion to Australian music, Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 1997

Holmes, Robyn. The collectors book of sheet music covers, Canberra : National Library of Australia, 2001

Laffin, John. Damn the Dardanelles! : the story of Gallipoli,Sydney : Doubleday, 1980

Winter, Denis. 25 April 1915 : the inevitable tragedy, St. Lucia, Qld. : University of Queensland Press, 1994

Treloar, J. L. An ANZAC diary, Armidale, N.S.W. : Alan Treloar, 1993

Australian Army History Unit [Department of Defence] See: History in focus [several sections about World War One]

Australian War Memorial See: Australians at War: Australian Military History Overview: First World War 1914-1918

Australian War Memorial See: Encyclopedia: Gallipoli

Gallipoli: The drama of the Dardanelles [Imperial War Museum, UK]

Visit Gallipoli [Department of Veterans Affairs]

Trove: Music, sound and video

Trove Lists See: Music resources theme: Australian musical treasures - War and Loss

Trove Lists See: Music resources theme: War and Peace in Australia - First World War