Digger (soldier)

Evidence of its use has been found in those countries as early as the 1850s, but its current usage in a military context did not become prominent until World War I, when Australian and New Zealand troops began using it on the Western Front around 1916–17.

"[7] However, writer Tim Lycett argues that there is no hard evidence to suggest that Hamilton's message is the reason why "digger" was applied to ANZAC troops in general.

[8][3] According to Lycett, Cyril Longmore, the author of the Australian 44th Battalion's official history, recorded the term being used by members of the battalion, in a manner synonymous with the word "cobber", during their time digging trenches while training in the Salisbury Plain Training Area in late 1916, while the 3rd Division prepared to deploy to the Western Front.

Using Longmore's book, and letters he published later, Lycett asserts that the term possibly gained prominence following a speech from the 11th Brigade's commander, Brigadier James Cannan, about the digging "prowess" of the 44th Battalion, many of whom had worked in the Western Australian goldfields prior to enlisting.

[10] In Australia, as the nation became more industrialised and urbanised, the term later assumed the qualities previous ascribed to the "bushman", including traits such as "hardiness, democratic spirit, mateship and resourcefulness".