Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Each year as Anzac Day approaches I encourage the local children to write to me with their Anzac Day stories, and each year I try to read into the Hansard extracts from some of the contributions. In this way, I hope to encourage a greater awareness of why we celebrate Anzac Day the way we do, and what it means to those generations who listen to the tales.

Some of the stories give me a wonderful insight into their thinking, uncontaminated by the ravages of adulthood. Some of the comments are touching, others naive, but all especially unique. Nearly all have gained their insight from books, and I wonder what they could have written if an adult or some old digger had sat down with them and told them their own story. What would they have said? What would they have felt? The impressions they gain in their younger years will stay with them forever, so it is important that they are exposed to the true spirit of Anzac. Having them write little essays is one way of doing that. I am happy to reward their contribution by mentioning them in this way.

This year’s selection came from Kangaroo Valley Public School with the first prize essay from each year. The first contribution is from Dyami Kirwan of year five, and Dyami writes:

In my essay I will tell you about Australian soldiers fighting to defend Australia on the Kokoda Track. Life on the Kokoda Track was hard and days were spent trudging through mud, climbing up steep hills and getting tangled in vines. It was too rugged to map in kilometres so it was mapped in how many hours a day it would take to walk. I’d just like to say thank you to the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels for helping the men on the Kokoda Track. The men on the Kokoda Track were very brave to have gone through those harsh conditions to save our land.

And Dyami concludes with a thank you to Anzacs. Thank you, Dyami.

Rebecca Radic of year six has chosen a brief account from one participant on the Kokoda Track as well. She wrote:

The Japanese needed Port Moresby so they could launch a full attack but little did they know we were at the ready. We met up with some Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels who helped us by carrying many of our wounded to safety. We grabbed our guns and in a rush everyone was panic stricken by the sudden suspense. My legs went numb and refused to move. I was so nervous. This was it. My heart missed a beat. I bit my lip so hard it started to bleed. The world was coming back to me.

Thank you, Rebecca.

Michael Eccles is in year three and he wrote:

So when we landed (at Gallipoli) we scrambled up the cliff. We dug trenches for us and our mates. 2000 ANZACs died on that day. We put up with flies buzzing around everyone’s food. The muddy trenches when it was raining. It was boiling hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. Many ANZACs died from illness but we didn’t pull out we were brave.

Thank you, Michael.

Alex Good of year six chose to write about Tobruk. He wrote:

I’m going to tell you about the ANZAC spirit needed in Tobruk. Adolph Hitler was getting ready for a war. He was creating the perfect soldiers who thrived on glory and obeyed orders. They were trained to do anything for their country and would stop at nothing—until they met the Australians. Hitler had never seen anything like it. Soldiers with the attitude to never give up and keep going. With any other men fighting, if the tanks broke through the front line they would have surrendered but not the Australians. Instead of going straight for the tanks, they went for the infantry behind. Once gone, they went for the tanks. Hitler had his first defeat.

Well done, Alex.

And finally, two small contributions that are no less in stature from Jacob Radic and Jaxon Boyle. This first one is from Jacob:

In 1915, when the soldiers landed at Gallipoli at Beach ‘X’, thousands were killed. Some were killed when they were still in their longboats. After landing on the beach the ANZACs had to dig trenches to protect themselves from the machinegun fire of the Turks in the hills.

And Jaxon wrote:

The ANZACs escaped from Gallipoli one night by making their guns fire on their own.

Thank you to Jacob and Jaxon, and thank you to Kangaroo Valley Public School.

It just goes to show that students do get involved with Anzac Day and that some of their contributions do come straight from the heart. It is very rewarding to see exactly what they do. I compliment the staff at Kangaroo Valley Public School and also the parents who are involved with Anzac Day and with their school. Thank you.

See this speech in context