The ANZACs had to travel for weeks on ships when they went off to war, and also when they came home. Many had been away for almost four years.
By the time the ships got closer to Australia, the ANZACs were restless and very homesick. Some ANZACs missed Australia so much that they sat about waiting to see who would be the first to smell the gum trees. Others lay on the decks looking at the night sky waiting to see their first glimpse of the Southern Cross in years.
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The war is over. An ANZAC is greeted by his excited mother at Hyde Park, Sydney, 1919. (AWM H11575)