WHEN Ross Coulthart was interviewed on TV regarding his biography of war correspondent Charles Bean, he made the statement that while former prime minister Paul Keating often quoted historian Manning Clark and never Charles Bean, the reverse was the case for former prime minster John Howard. In fact, both Clark and Bean wrote critically on the war.
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The sub-title of his book, Charles Bean, reads: “If People Really Knew: one man’s struggle to report the Great War and tell the truth.”
Bean was very forthcoming concerning the bravery of Australian and New Zealand soldiers at Gallipoli, but very critical at some of the tactics employed by Australian senior officers and scathing on the methods used by some British officers in charge of the ANZAC troops.
Charles Bean was in a unique position, being very close to the action and especially to the Australian officers. However, wartime censorship meant it was impossible for Bean to tell his Australian readers of just how confused the landing at Gallipoli had been and how dire the situation was now for the Allied forces there.
As he told of the heroic loss of an Australian officer who led an attack, he wrote, “One was sometimes inclined to think this kind of leading useless, but none who heard the men talking next day could doubt its value.”
The first account of the landing at Anzac Cove which was relayed to Australian newspapers ran, “The Australians rose to the occasion. They did not wait for orders, or for the boats to reach the beach, but sprang into the sea, formed a sort of rough line and rushed at the enemy’s trenches.”
The English newspaper reporter who wrote this arrived on Anzac Cove 12 hours after Charles Bean, but the latter was not allowed to send his reports of what he observed of the landing until a week later.
In his book, Coulthart wrote that “the reality on the ground was very different from what Bean and the English correspondent wrote in their news stories. There can be no doubt of the extraordinary heroism of many Australians and New Zealanders on this now mythical day, but there were also numerous soldiers who made the arguably rational decision to keep their heads down and avoid getting shot, in what history has since acknowledged as an ill-conceived attack on strong Turkish defences. Charles Bean admitted there were what he termed “stragglers” on the first day of the Gallipoli landing.”
He wrote, “Of course the beach was fearfully congested. As the night went on a great number of these stragglers were organised into parties to carry water, ammunition and food up to the lines. I have heard their number put at anything from 600 to 1000. They, many of them, came down with wounded men. This is an offence in war, but few realised it at this early stage.”
While it always hard to arrive at “the truth”, Charles Bean did attempt to write the truth, despite the pain this may have caused him and his readers.
Ross Coulthart’s work may be obtained from good bookstalls.
Billy Hughes debate
With Chris Earl and Ian Tulloch. At LaTrobe Visual Arts Centre, View Street, on Thursday, October 30, at 6pm. Book on 5441 8724.
Bendigo Historical Society Events in History Week
Tuesday, October 21 – Walk from Specimen Cottage at 2pm.
Wednesday, October 22 – “Memories of School”, Specimen Cottage, at 2pm.
Thursday, October 23 – Barb Poustie talk on James Brierley and his block of land at 11am.
Thursday, October 23 – Walk from Specimen Cottage at 2pm.
Friday, October 24 – White Hills Cemetery at 2pm. Meet at gates.
Shamrock tours
Every Sunday at 2pm. Cost $10 includes cake and coffee. Book at the Shamrock on 5443 0333.
Visit the Bendigo Historical Society website at www.bendigohistory.com
