Digger, The (ATOM Study Guide)

The Digger (Serge Ou, 2011, 84 minutes) presents a portrait of the Australian soldier. It is not a detailed chronological history, but selects key moments, battles and individuals to offer a portrait of the iconic figure.

Through a sequence of pivotal battles it tells the story of the typical Australian soldier, and shows the emergence of a type of fighting man with an international reputation as non-conformist, disrespectful, loose of discipline, and unparalleled as a shock troop or soldier able to function on his own initiative.

In South Africa they had become soldiers but were still not Australians when they fought the Boers. The film focuses on the siege at Elands River to see the start of the Digger tradition.

Gallipoli is where the national legend has it that Australia became a nation, but these soldiers became 'diggers' on the Western Front, where they were blooded at a place called Fromelles, and showed their full development at Villers-Bretonneux.

Twenty-five years later the legend of the digger grew to maturity in battles at El Alamein, Milne Bay, Kokoda, and even among the prisoners of war of the Japanese.

The greatest American honour available to a unit, the Presidential Citation, was first awarded to Australians at Kapyong in Korea, and later at Long Tan in Vietnam.

The story has been filmed on location in eight countries, and features five wars. It uses anecdotes, jokes and songs, letters, diaries, archival film and photographs, memoirs, animated graphics and re-enactments of both the military actions and off-duty conduct to present the portrait.

The story of the digger is full of high drama, diverse landscape, diverse characters, terrible and terribly funny stories. At its core is an exploration of one of the central elements of Australia's cultural identity.

Curriculum Relevance:

The Digger is a resource that can be used at Years 9–12 in History to study:

• the development of a significant aspect of Australian national identity
• the nature of Australia's experience of war
• the way history is constructed.