 traits which , according to popular thought , defined the behaviour of Australian soldiers fighting at Gallipoli during the First World War . The Gallipoli campaign was one of the first international events that saw Australians taking part as Australians and has been seen as a key event in forging a sense of national identity .   The relationship between war and Australian society has been shaped by two of the more enduring themes of Australian strategic culture : bandwagoning with a powerful ally and expeditionary warfare . Indeed , Australian defence policy was closely linked to Britain until the Japanese crisis of 1942 , while since then an alliance with the United States has underwritten its security . Arguably , this pattern of bandwagoning — both for cultural reasons such as shared values and beliefs , as well as for more pragmatic security concerns — has ensured that Australian strategic policy has often been defined by relations with its allies . Regardless , a tendency towards strategic complacency has also been evident , with Australians often reluctant to think about defence issues or to allocate resources until a crisis arises ; a trait which has historically resulted in unpreparedness for major military challenges .   Reflecting both the realist and liberal paradigms of international relations and the conception of national interests , a number of other important themes in Australian strategic culture are also obvious . Such themes include : an acceptance of the state as the key actor in international politics , the centrality of notions of Westphalian sovereignty , a belief in the enduring relevance and legitimacy of armed force as a guarantor of security , and the proposition that the status quo in international affairs should only be changed peacefully . Likewise , multilateralism , collective security and defence self @-@ reliance have also been important themes . Change has been more evolutionary than revolutionary and these strategic behaviours have persisted throughout its history , being the product of Australian society 's democratic political tradition and Judaeo @-@ Christian Anglo @-@ European heritage , as well its associated values , beliefs and economic , political and religious ideology . These behaviours are also reflective of its unique security dilemma as a largely European island on the edge of the Asia @-@ Pacific , and the geopolitical circumstances of a middle power physically removed from the centres of world power . To be sure , during threats to the core Australia has often found itself defending the periphery and perhaps as a result , it has frequently become involved in foreign wars . Throughout these conflicts Australian soldiers — known colloquially as Diggers — have often been noted , somewhat paradoxically , for both their fighting abilities and their humanitarian qualities .   = = Colonial era = =   = = = British Forces in Australia , 1788 – 1870 = = =   From 1788 until 1870 the defence of the Australian colonies was mostly provided by British Army regular forces . Originally Marines protected the early settlements at Sydney Cove and Norfolk Island , however they were relieved of these duties in 1790 by a British Army unit specifically recruited for colonial service , known as the New South Wales Corps . The New South Wales Corps subsequently was involved in putting down a rebellion of Irish convicts at Castle Hill in 1804 . Soon however shortcomings in the corps convinced the War Office of the need for a more reliable garrison in New South Wales and Van Diemen 's Land . Chief of these shortcomings was the Rum Rebellion , a coup mounted by its officers in 1808 . As a result , in January 1810 the 73rd ( Perthshire ) Regiment of Foot arrived in Australia . By 1870 , 25 British infantry regiments had served in Australia , as had a small number of artillery and engineer units .   Although the primary role of the British Army was to protect the colonies against external attack , no actual threat ever materialised . The British Army was instead used in policing , guarding convicts at penal institutions , combating bushranging , putting down convict rebellions — as occurred at Bathurst in 1830 — and to suppress Aboriginal resistance to the extension of European settlement . Notably British soldiers were involved in the battle at the Eureka Stockade in 1854 on the Victorian goldfields . Members of British regiments stationed in Australia also saw action in India , Afghanistan , New Zealand and the Sudan .   During the early years of settlement the naval defence of Australia was provided by detached Royal Navy units of the East Indies Station , based in Sydney . However , in 1859 Australia was established as a separate squadron under the command of a commodore , marking the first occasion that Royal Navy ships had been permanently stationed in Australia . The Royal Navy remained the primary naval force in Australian waters until 1913 , when the Australia Station ceased and responsibility handed over to the Royal Australian Navy ; the Royal Navy 's depots , dockyards and structures were given to the Australian people .   = = = Frontier warfare , 1788 – 1934 = = =   The reactions of the native Aboriginal inhabitants to the sudden arrival of British settlers in Australia were varied , but were inevitably hostile when the settler 's presence led to competition over resources , and to the occupation of the indigenous inhabitants ' lands . European diseases decimated Aboriginal populations , and the occupation or destruction of lands and
Ġtraits Ġwhich Ġ, Ġaccording Ġto Ġpopular Ġthought Ġ, Ġdefined Ġthe Ġbehaviour Ġof ĠAustralian Ġsoldiers Ġfighting Ġat ĠGall ip oli Ġduring Ġthe ĠFirst ĠWorld ĠWar Ġ. ĠThe ĠGall ip oli Ġcampaign Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġfirst Ġinternational Ġevents Ġthat Ġsaw ĠAustralians Ġtaking Ġpart Ġas ĠAustralians Ġand Ġhas Ġbeen Ġseen Ġas Ġa Ġkey Ġevent Ġin Ġforging Ġa Ġsense Ġof Ġnational Ġidentity Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġrelationship Ġbetween Ġwar Ġand ĠAustralian Ġsociety Ġhas Ġbeen Ġshaped Ġby Ġtwo Ġof Ġthe Ġmore Ġenduring Ġthemes Ġof ĠAustralian Ġstrategic Ġculture Ġ: Ġbandwagon ing Ġwith Ġa Ġpowerful Ġally Ġand Ġexpedition ary Ġwarfare Ġ. ĠIndeed Ġ, ĠAustralian Ġdefence Ġpolicy Ġwas Ġclosely Ġlinked Ġto ĠBritain Ġuntil Ġthe ĠJapanese Ġcrisis Ġof Ġ1942 Ġ, Ġwhile Ġsince Ġthen Ġan Ġalliance Ġwith Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġhas Ġunder written Ġits Ġsecurity Ġ. ĠAr gu ably Ġ, Ġthis Ġpattern Ġof Ġbandwagon ing ĠâĢĶ Ġboth Ġfor Ġcultural Ġreasons Ġsuch Ġas Ġshared Ġvalues Ġand Ġbeliefs Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġfor Ġmore Ġpragmatic Ġsecurity Ġconcerns ĠâĢĶ Ġhas Ġensured Ġthat ĠAustralian Ġstrategic Ġpolicy Ġhas Ġoften Ġbeen Ġdefined Ġby Ġrelations Ġwith Ġits Ġallies Ġ. ĠRegardless Ġ, Ġa Ġtendency Ġtowards Ġstrategic Ġcompl ac ency Ġhas Ġalso Ġbeen Ġevident Ġ, Ġwith ĠAustralians Ġoften Ġreluctant Ġto Ġthink Ġabout Ġdefence Ġissues Ġor Ġto Ġallocate Ġresources Ġuntil Ġa Ġcrisis Ġarises Ġ; Ġa Ġtrait Ġwhich Ġhas Ġhistorically Ġresulted Ġin Ġunprepared ness Ġfor Ġmajor Ġmilitary Ġchallenges Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠReflect ing Ġboth Ġthe Ġreal ist Ġand Ġliberal Ġparad ig ms Ġof Ġinternational Ġrelations Ġand Ġthe Ġconception Ġof Ġnational Ġinterests Ġ, Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġother Ġimportant Ġthemes Ġin ĠAustralian Ġstrategic Ġculture Ġare Ġalso Ġobvious Ġ. ĠSuch Ġthemes Ġinclude Ġ: Ġan Ġacceptance Ġof Ġthe Ġstate Ġas Ġthe Ġkey Ġactor Ġin Ġinternational Ġpolitics Ġ, Ġthe Ġcentral ity Ġof Ġnotions Ġof ĠWest ph alian Ġsovereignty Ġ, Ġa Ġbelief Ġin Ġthe Ġenduring Ġrelevance Ġand Ġlegitimacy Ġof Ġarmed Ġforce Ġas Ġa Ġguarant or Ġof Ġsecurity Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġproposition Ġthat Ġthe Ġstatus Ġquo Ġin Ġinternational Ġaffairs Ġshould Ġonly Ġbe Ġchanged Ġpeacefully Ġ. ĠLikewise Ġ, Ġmult ilateral ism Ġ, Ġcollective Ġsecurity Ġand Ġdefence Ġself Ġ@ - @ Ġreliance Ġhave Ġalso Ġbeen Ġimportant Ġthemes Ġ. ĠChange Ġhas Ġbeen Ġmore Ġevolutionary Ġthan Ġrevolutionary Ġand Ġthese Ġstrategic Ġbehaviours Ġhave Ġpersisted Ġthroughout Ġits Ġhistory Ġ, Ġbeing Ġthe Ġproduct Ġof ĠAustralian Ġsociety Ġ' s Ġdemocratic Ġpolitical Ġtradition Ġand ĠJud ae o Ġ@ - @ ĠChristian ĠAnglo Ġ@ - @ ĠEuropean Ġheritage Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġits Ġassociated Ġvalues Ġ, Ġbeliefs Ġand Ġeconomic Ġ, Ġpolitical Ġand Ġreligious Ġideology Ġ. ĠThese Ġbehaviours Ġare Ġalso Ġreflective Ġof Ġits Ġunique Ġsecurity Ġdilemma Ġas Ġa Ġlargely ĠEuropean Ġisland Ġon Ġthe Ġedge Ġof Ġthe ĠAsia Ġ@ - @ ĠPacific Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġgeopolitical Ġcircumstances Ġof Ġa Ġmiddle Ġpower Ġphysically Ġremoved Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcentres Ġof Ġworld Ġpower Ġ. ĠTo Ġbe Ġsure Ġ, Ġduring Ġthreats Ġto Ġthe Ġcore ĠAustralia Ġhas Ġoften Ġfound Ġitself Ġdefending Ġthe Ġperiphery Ġand Ġperhaps Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġit Ġhas Ġfrequently Ġbecome Ġinvolved Ġin Ġforeign Ġwars Ġ. ĠThroughout Ġthese Ġconflicts ĠAustralian Ġsoldiers ĠâĢĶ Ġknown Ġcoll oqu ially Ġas ĠDig gers ĠâĢĶ Ġhave Ġoften Ġbeen Ġnoted Ġ, Ġsomewhat Ġparadox ically Ġ, Ġfor Ġboth Ġtheir Ġfighting Ġabilities Ġand Ġtheir Ġhumanitarian Ġqualities Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠColonial Ġera Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠBritish ĠForces Ġin ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġ17 88 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1870 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠFrom Ġ17 88 Ġuntil Ġ1870 Ġthe Ġdefence Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġcolonies Ġwas Ġmostly Ġprovided Ġby ĠBritish ĠArmy Ġregular Ġforces Ġ. ĠOriginally ĠMarines Ġprotected Ġthe Ġearly Ġsettlements Ġat ĠSydney ĠCove Ġand ĠNorfolk ĠIsland Ġ, Ġhowever Ġthey Ġwere Ġrelieved Ġof Ġthese Ġduties Ġin Ġ17 90 Ġby Ġa ĠBritish ĠArmy Ġunit Ġspecifically Ġrecruited Ġfor Ġcolonial Ġservice Ġ, Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠCorps Ġ. ĠThe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠCorps Ġsubsequently Ġwas Ġinvolved Ġin Ġputting Ġdown Ġa Ġrebellion Ġof ĠIrish Ġconv icts Ġat ĠCastle ĠHill Ġin Ġ18 04 Ġ. ĠSoon Ġhowever Ġshortcomings Ġin Ġthe Ġcorps Ġconvinced Ġthe ĠWar ĠOffice Ġof Ġthe Ġneed Ġfor Ġa Ġmore Ġreliable Ġgarrison Ġin ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġand ĠVan ĠDi emen Ġ' s ĠLand Ġ. ĠChief Ġof Ġthese Ġshortcomings Ġwas Ġthe ĠRum ĠRebellion Ġ, Ġa Ġcoup Ġmounted Ġby Ġits Ġofficers Ġin Ġ18 08 Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ18 10 Ġthe Ġ73 rd Ġ( ĠPerth shire Ġ) ĠRegiment Ġof ĠFoot Ġarrived Ġin ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠBy Ġ1870 Ġ, Ġ25 ĠBritish Ġinfantry Ġreg iments Ġhad Ġserved Ġin ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġas Ġhad Ġa Ġsmall Ġnumber Ġof Ġartillery Ġand Ġengineer Ġunits Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġprimary Ġrole Ġof Ġthe ĠBritish ĠArmy Ġwas Ġto Ġprotect Ġthe Ġcolonies Ġagainst Ġexternal Ġattack Ġ, Ġno Ġactual Ġthreat Ġever Ġmaterial ised Ġ. ĠThe ĠBritish ĠArmy Ġwas Ġinstead Ġused Ġin Ġpolicing Ġ, Ġguarding Ġconv icts Ġat Ġpenal Ġinstitutions Ġ, Ġcombating Ġbus hr anging Ġ, Ġputting Ġdown Ġconvict Ġrebell ions ĠâĢĶ Ġas Ġoccurred Ġat ĠBath urst Ġin Ġ1830 ĠâĢĶ Ġand Ġto Ġsuppress ĠAboriginal Ġresistance Ġto Ġthe Ġextension Ġof ĠEuropean Ġsettlement Ġ. ĠNotably ĠBritish Ġsoldiers Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġthe Ġbattle Ġat Ġthe ĠE ure ka ĠStock ade Ġin Ġ18 54 Ġon Ġthe ĠVictorian Ġgold fields Ġ. ĠMembers Ġof ĠBritish Ġreg iments Ġstationed Ġin ĠAustralia Ġalso Ġsaw Ġaction Ġin ĠIndia Ġ, ĠAfghanistan Ġ, ĠNew ĠZealand Ġand Ġthe ĠSudan Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe Ġearly Ġyears Ġof Ġsettlement Ġthe Ġnaval Ġdefence Ġof ĠAustralia Ġwas Ġprovided Ġby Ġdetached ĠRoyal ĠNavy Ġunits Ġof Ġthe ĠEast ĠIndies ĠStation Ġ, Ġbased Ġin ĠSydney Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġin Ġ18 59 ĠAustralia Ġwas Ġestablished Ġas Ġa Ġseparate Ġsquadron Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof Ġa Ġcommod ore Ġ, Ġmarking Ġthe Ġfirst Ġoccasion Ġthat ĠRoyal ĠNavy Ġships Ġhad Ġbeen Ġpermanently Ġstationed Ġin ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠThe ĠRoyal ĠNavy Ġremained Ġthe Ġprimary Ġnaval Ġforce Ġin ĠAustralian Ġwaters Ġuntil Ġ1913 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe ĠAustralia ĠStation Ġceased Ġand Ġresponsibility Ġhanded Ġover Ġto Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠAustralian ĠNavy Ġ; Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠNavy Ġ' s Ġdep ots Ġ, Ġdock yards Ġand Ġstructures Ġwere Ġgiven Ġto Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġpeople Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠFrontier Ġwarfare Ġ, Ġ17 88 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1934 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġreactions Ġof Ġthe Ġnative ĠAboriginal Ġinhabitants Ġto Ġthe Ġsudden Ġarrival Ġof ĠBritish Ġsettlers Ġin ĠAustralia Ġwere Ġvaried Ġ, Ġbut Ġwere Ġinevitably Ġhostile Ġwhen Ġthe Ġsett ler Ġ' s Ġpresence Ġled Ġto Ġcompetition Ġover Ġresources Ġ, Ġand Ġto Ġthe Ġoccupation Ġof Ġthe Ġindigenous Ġinhabitants Ġ' Ġlands Ġ. ĠEuropean Ġdiseases Ġdec imated ĠAboriginal Ġpopulations Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġoccupation Ġor Ġdestruction Ġof Ġlands Ġand