Digger (soldier)

Before World War I, the term "digger" was widely used in Australasia to mean a miner, and also referred to a Kauri gum-digger in New Zealand. In Australia and New Zealand, the term "digger" has egalitarian connotations from the Victorian Eureka Stockade Rebellion of 1854, and was closely associated with the principles of mateship, which may have had resonance from earlier use of the term "diggers" as egalitarians. Many Australian and New Zealand soldiers in the Second Boer War (1899–1902) were former miners, and at the Battle of Elands River (1900), the Australian defenders earned a reputation as diggers, hastily constructing dugout defences in the hard ground. Following the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, at the start of the Gallipoli Campaign, General Sir Ian Hamilton wrote to General William Birdwood, the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), adding in postscript: "You have got through the difficult business, now you have only to dig, dig, dig, until you are safe." However, writer Tim Lycett argues that there is no hard evidence to suggest that Hamilton's message is the reason why "digger" was applied to ANZAC troops in general. ==Link with the Anzac legend==

At the outbreak of World War I, Australia and New Zealand were both relatively "young" nations, with little exposure on the international stage. Deployed to Gallipoli in early 1915, the soldiers of both nations had a chance to prove themselves. Although the Gallipoli campaign resulted in heavy casualties and ultimately ended in withdrawal for the Allies, the campaign became strongly linked with the emergence of national identity in Australia and New Zealand. Through the manner in which the Australian and New Zealand soldiers endured the hardships of battle, the image that has become synonymous with the word "digger" has become linked with the concept of the Anzac legend, embodying the qualities of "endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, and [...] mateship". In Australia, as the nation became more industrialised and urbanised, the term later assumed the qualities previous ascribed to the "bushman", including traits such as "hardiness, democratic spirit, mateship and resourcefulness". == Usage ==

While the Australians and New Zealanders would call each other "Digger", the British tended to call the New Zealanders "Kiwis" and Australians "Diggers". The equivalent slang for a British soldier was "Tommy" from Tommy Atkins. == Sports teams ==

Between 1998 and 2003, the term was used in the name of a team in the Victorian Football League, the Bendigo Diggers. This was partly in reference to Bendigo's history as a centre of the gold-mining industry. The team changed its nickname to "Bombers" when it became aligned to Essendon. In 2001, Athletics Australia suggested that it would use "Diggers" as the nickname of the Australian athletics team. The proposal was withdrawn after a public outcry and protest from the Returned and Services League of Australia. == See also ==