The fair dinkums

the long version

FAIR DINKUM (def.): honesty, guts, directness, fortitude, courage, truth. You had to be fair dinkum to enlist after the hell of Gallipoli hit home. A new breed of warrior and patriot stepped up as Anzac's second wave. Among them were 152 men of the 7th Battalion - fruit pickers and farmers, bootmakers and blacksmiths, miners and mailmen. They fought under the colours of 'mud and blood' in the searing sands of Egypt, on Gallipoli's fatal shore, across killing fields in France and beyond. Born in the right place at the wrong time, the bravery and ingenuity of these young Australian men forged a legendary band of brothers: 'The Fair Dinkums'.