The Story of the ANZACs: Where the Name Came From and Why It's Protected

The word "Anzac" is one of the most recognised in Australian English. It names a day. It describes a quality. It appears on memorials in every town in the country. But relatively few people know where the word actually came from, how a piece of military shorthand turned into a national identity, or why it's one of only a handful of words in Australia that is protected by federal law.

A rubber stamp in Cairo

In December 1914, the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force arrived in Egypt for training before deployment to the war. The two forces were grouped together under the command of British Lieutenant General William Birdwood and designated the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

That's a lot of words. Too many for military paperwork, telegraph codes, and rubber stamps. Someone at the Corps headquarters at Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo shortened it.

The official war historian C.E.W. Bean attributed the acronym to Lieutenant A.T. White, one of Birdwood's clerks. The New Zealand account credits Sergeant K.M. Little. Birdwood himself later claimed he adopted it as a telegraph code word when asked for a cable address for the Corps. The most likely sequence, based on Bean's account, is that two sergeants - Little and Milligan - cut a rubber stamp reading "A & NZAC" to register papers at headquarters. When Major Ninnis Wagstaff needed a telegraph code word, a clerk suggested "How about ANZAC?" Birdwood approved it, and the acronym became the official code name for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

It was, at that point, nothing more than administrative convenience. A filing abbreviation. A cable address. Nobody in December 1914 could have predicted what the word would come to mean.

Gallipoli: the word becomes a place

On 25 April 1915, the Corps landed on the Gallipoli peninsula as part of a campaign to capture the Dardanelles strait and force the Ottoman Empire out of the war. The small cove where the Australian and New Zealand troops came ashore was quickly named Anzac Cove - at Birdwood's request, when General Headquarters asked him to suggest a name for the landing beach.

The campaign lasted eight months and ended in evacuation. Over 8,000 Australians and nearly 2,700 New Zealanders were killed. More than 26,000 Australians and 5,000 New Zealanders were wounded. The campaign was a military failure. But by the time it was over, the word "Anzac" had changed. It was no longer a telegraph code. It was an identity.

The soldiers began calling themselves Anzacs. The press adopted the term. By August 1915, The Times in London was writing about "the valour of the Australasian troops in the Dardanelles at Anzac." By the end of 1915, the nickname had achieved acceptance as a proper noun. Until 1918, "Anzac" was a more commonly used self-description among the soldiers of the AIF than "Digger".

Beyond Gallipoli

After the evacuation from Gallipoli, the AIF was reorganised and expanded. Two Anzac Corps (I ANZAC and II ANZAC) served on the Western Front in France and Belgium from 1916. The New Zealand Division served in I ANZAC Corps until mid-1916, then in II ANZAC Corps until early 1918. In the Middle East, the combined mounted units were designated the Anzac Mounted Division.

By mid-1918, the Australian divisions on the Western Front were reorganised into the Australian Corps under General John Monash, and the formal ANZAC Corps designations were dissolved. But the word had already transcended its military origin.

The term carried into later conflicts. In 1941, an Anzac Corps was formed in Greece. During the Vietnam War, combined Australian and New Zealand battalions were designated ANZAC battalions (2RAR/NZ, 4RAR/NZ, 6RAR/NZ). The word has remained in continuous use for over a century - a remarkable journey for a rubber stamp abbreviation.

Who were the Anzacs?

The original Anzacs were volunteers. The AIF and NZEF were entirely volunteer forces - no conscripts served at Gallipoli. They came from farms, factories, offices, and schools. They were clerks, labourers, teachers, jackeroos, tradespeople, and professionals. They included nurses - around 3,000 Australian women served overseas during WWI with the Australian Army Nursing Service, many of them in field hospitals in Egypt, on hospital ships off Gallipoli, and later on the Western Front.

The popular image of the Anzac is a young man in a slouch hat. The reality was broader. Your great-grandmother who served as an AANS nurse at Lemnos in 1915, treating the wounded evacuated from Gallipoli, was as much an Anzac as the infantryman on the ridge. Her service record is at the National Archives alongside his.

Why the word is protected

Almost immediately after the Gallipoli campaign, the word "Anzac" began appearing on commercial products. Entrepreneurs recognised the commercial appeal of associating their goods with the reputation the Anzacs had earned. Anzac buttons. Anzac boot polish. Anzac this, Anzac that. Within a year of the landing, the word was being exploited for trade.

The Australian Government responded with the Protection of Word "Anzac" Act 1920, supported by the Protection of Word "Anzac" Regulations 1921. This legislation makes it an offence to use the word "Anzac" - or any word resembling it - without the written permission of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs.

The restrictions are broad. You cannot use "Anzac" in the name of a trade, business, profession, or commercial product. You cannot use it in connection with entertainment, lotteries, or fundraising events without a permit. You cannot name a street, road, or park "Anzac" without ministerial approval. You cannot import goods bearing the word "Anzac" without permission under the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations.

The penalties are real: fines of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to 12 months. The Department of Veterans' Affairs administers the regulations on the Minister's behalf and processes permit applications. There is no fee to apply for a permit, and applications typically take up to four weeks.

The intent of the legislation is straightforward: protect the word from misuse and overuse so it retains its place in Australia's heritage. The law doesn't prevent people from writing about Anzac Day, discussing the Anzac tradition, or using the word in editorial and educational contexts. What it prevents is commercial exploitation.

What's still allowed

Writing about Anzac Day in a blog, newspaper, or educational resource is standard editorial usage - the AWM, DVA, RSL, and every media outlet in the country does this. Baking Anzac biscuits at home and sharing the recipe is fine. Selling Anzac biscuits commercially is permitted provided the recipe follows the generally accepted form - deviate substantially and you need to drop the name.

Commemorative events, RSL activities, and educational programs use the word freely because they fall within the spirit of the legislation. The restrictions target commercial exploitation, not cultural observance.

From acronym to national identity

The journey of the word "Anzac" from a rubber stamp in a Cairo hotel to a federally protected term of national identity is remarkable. It happened in less than two years - from December 1914, when someone cut the stamp, to August 1916, when the Australian Government passed the first legislation to protect it.

Today, the word carries the weight of more than a century of service across every conflict Australia has fought in. It names the day of national commemoration. It describes a quality - the "Anzac spirit" of courage, endurance, and mateship. It connects Australia and New Zealand in a shared military and cultural identity that predates both nations' full independence.

And it started with a clerk who needed a shorter way to stamp the paperwork.

If you're researching a family member who served in any of Australia's conflicts - from the original Anzacs at Gallipoli through to every major engagement since - the service record held by the National Archives is where their story begins. A Decode My Digger decode turns that record into something the whole family can understand - whether your ancestor was at Anzac Cove in 1915 or serving in Vietnam decades later.

Frequently asked questions

What does ANZAC stand for?

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The acronym was created in December 1914 in Cairo as a telegraph code word and rubber stamp abbreviation for the combined force under Lieutenant General William Birdwood.

Who invented the word ANZAC?

The exact origin is debated. C.E.W. Bean credited Lieutenant A.T. White. New Zealand sources credit Sergeant K.M. Little. Birdwood claimed he adopted it as a cable address. The most likely account is that clerks at Corps headquarters created the abbreviation for paperwork, and it was then adopted as the official telegraph code.

Is it illegal to use the word Anzac in Australia?

Using the word in commercial contexts - trade names, business names, products, entertainment - requires a permit from the Minister for Veterans' Affairs under the Protection of Word "Anzac" Act 1920. Editorial, educational, and commemorative use is permitted. The legislation targets commercial exploitation, not cultural observance.

Can I call my product "Anzac" something?

Not without written permission from the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Applications are processed by the Department of Veterans' Affairs and are free to submit. Allow up to four weeks for processing.

What's the difference between "Anzac" and "Digger"?

Both terms describe Australian soldiers, but they have different origins and connotations. "Anzac" is the acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and specifically includes New Zealanders. "Digger" is an Australian nickname for soldiers that became widespread during WWI. "Anzac" is legally protected. "Digger" is not.

Sources

Protection of Word "Anzac" Act 1920 (Cth) - Federal Register of Legislation, Australian Government.

Use of the Word Anzac Guidelines - Department of Veterans' Affairs, December 2025.

Origins of the acronym ANZAC - Australian War Memorial Encyclopedia.

ANZAC acronym - Australian War Memorial Encyclopedia.

The Anzac legend - DVA Anzac Portal.

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - DVA Anzac Portal.

The Anzacs - NZ History, New Zealand Government.

Origins of acronym ANZAC - National Army Museum, New Zealand.

Anzac: acronym or proper noun - Anzac Memorial, New South Wales.

C.E.W. Bean (editor), The Anzac book, Cassell, Sydney, 1916.

C.E.W. Bean, The story of Anzac: the official history of Australia in the war of 1914-1918, vols I and II, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1936.

Gavin Long, Greece, Crete and Syria: Australia in the war of 1939-1945, series 1 (Army), vol. 2, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1953, pp. 69-70.

Further information

Protecting the word 'Anzac' - Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Anzac Day - Australian War Memorial.

Anzac spirit - Australian War Memorial Encyclopedia.

Protection of Word "Anzac" Act 1920 - Section 22 Regulations - AustLII.

The origin of the acronym "ANZAC" - ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee.