Parades and Processions

Brisbane's War-time Patriotism

Abstract

Parades and processions were a major feature of life in Brisbane during World War I. Parades typically passed through the central business district turning the entire city into an urban backdrop for a public perfonnance. Recruitment was a major issue for Australia during World War I and military parades featured prominently in the life of the city. The Brisbane Courier described the recruiting marches as ‘long columns of robust, khaki-clad manhood’ which ‘have swung down the street, with soldierly gait, setting a bright, sturdy example to shirkers to “go and get their dungarees on”’. By positioning the soldiers as heroic, well-built, and positive, processions helped to generate public enthusiasm for the war and to convince prospective recruits to join up. The message to the community is clear: if our soldiers are fit and spirited, then the Allies will win the war. But the marches were not only a way to rally new recruits, they also acted as public displays of civic solidarity. Parades gave citizens the opportunity to demonstrate their patriotic feelings. ‘Patriotism’, whether for King, country, or for ‘our boys’, was the dominant performative concept. In this way, governments, community organisations, theatrical managements, and the residents themselves contributed to the establishment of certain war-time traditions for the representation of civic patriotism on the streets in Australia.