Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

It is one hundred years since the First World War and it is, in particular, the defining moment of our nation. When I speak at schools and when I have the opportunity to discuss Australia's history with constituents at various commemorative services, I often reflect, as many Australians do, on the role that Gallipoli played in defining our nation. The fundamental values that were etched in the blood that was spilt on the soil and in the sand at Gallipoli are the values of loyalty, mateship, service and sacrifice; and they are the ideals that are still held high today.

Out of a small population of around 4.9 million back in 1914, a total of some 417,000 men volunteered and enlisted to fight with the Australian Imperial Forces. Of those, around 323,000 served overseas and, for those who served overseas, there a casualty rate, tragically, of 64.8 per cent. That was one of the highest casualty rates of all the Allied forces. From the spilt blood, from the injuries and from the mental anguish that was endured by a generation of early Aussies, this great nation in so many different respects was forged.

Especially on Anzac Day this year, we were able to come together in our millions across this great brown land to reflect on the service and sacrifice of our forefathers. On the Gold Coast, in my electorate of Moncrieff, the reports were of tens and tens of thousands of Gold Coasters who took time to pay their solemn respects to those in World War I and every subsequent conflict—to those who put their lives and bodies on the line so that we as a nation can continue to enjoy the many liberties that we do.

I had the tremendous honour this Anzac Day of representing our nation at the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore. Even there, there were thousands of Australians who came to the dawn service to reflect on the sacrifice made by Australians and others. In the heat of the pre-dawn in Singapore we were able to reflect on the many theatres of war where Australians lost their lives or paid the high price of injuries in defence of our nation and in defence of our way of life. It was a privilege for my wife Astra to be able to represent me in my electorate and to fly the flag, so to speak, at the various commemorative services.

Whether it was at the Southport RSL, Surfers Paradise RSL or Nerang RSL, the fact is that across the coast and across my electorate people came together to reflect, as I said, and to solemnly consider those who have gone before us. I have been particularly pleased on this, the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli, as part of the government's program to provide support to local communities, to have been able to provide some funding for a number of local ex-service organisations and other groups that have had ideas and initiatives about how we can instil in the next generation of young Australians a great respect for what it was that our forefathers went through on the battlefront as well as the very heavy payment that was made by their loved ones who remained here in Australia.

I was particularly pleased to have been involved in a number of initiatives. The Nerang RSL moved to provide a service that involved an educational immersion experience for young Gold Coast children. I know that it has been a popular exhibit as Gold Coast kids have had the opportunity to experience what it was actually like to be in a trench. They have been able to experience the darkness and the sounds of shelling and artillery as they walk through a replica trench and can pause to reflect and consider what others went through.

Likewise, the Mudgeeraba Light Horse Museum have an outstanding exhibition that reflects both a display on quality horsemanship and other historical artefacts that students can look at and can learn from. They also have engaging activities, a dedicated booklet and other initiatives like that which enable them to reflect what our forefathers went through.

One of the more well-known schools on the Gold Coast is the Southport school, or TSS. I was pleased to be able to support TSS's initiative with respect to the compilation of a book that was produced in part with funding that I was able to deliver. It reflects on the contribution made by a number of former TSS students. Out of the 61,500 or so young Australians who were killed in action in the First World War, approximately 52 were TSS students or old boys from the school.

One of them was 24-year-old Private Arthur Beresford. He wrote of the excitement and sense of adventure the troops felt when leaving Australia. He said:

The ship was the S.S. "Omrah" of the Orient Mail Line, was fitted up perfectly for us and throughout the whole voyage, we all had a good time …

He was wounded at Gallipoli after landing on 25 April and evacuated to England for a lengthy period of hospitalisation, treatment and convalescence. His service eventually spanned almost the entire period of the First World War, until his death in Europe in 1918.

Southport born Lieutenant John Hockin was one of the many to fall during the first charge in France. Others, particularly Private William Robertson, wrote saying how brave he was. Only a few got to the German lines, and they never got back—he was among them.

Captain Leslie Blake wrote to his brother Will:

One is like a mole in this dammed country nothing but live in dug-outs—they get on your nerves after a time … Hell! I'll have a dug-out instead of a house when I get back, I hope to live and never see one again …

Leslie was fatally wounded on 2 October 1918 by shellfire when in charge of ammunition wagons near the railway between the villages of Nauroy and Estrees. Another Gold Coast born and raised student who was killed was Lieutenant Norman Freeman. He grew up in Southport and was killed in action in Messines, Belgium, at 21 years of age.

I want to commend and congratulate all of those who were involved in the commemoration that took place on the Gold Coast across so many different RSLs, providing the opportunity for tens of thousands of Gold Coasters to pause and reflect. We will build off that solid platform with a number of initiatives that are focused, unapologetically, upon ensuring that the next generation of Australians—the young, impressionable minds of Australian students today—have the opportunity to learn so much more in a very real sense about the contribution that our forefathers made in various campaigns and on various battlefronts around the world.

We are still a relatively young country. We have a small population. Unlike so many other countries, the fact is that one of the unique traits of Australian culture is that we do not celebrate outstanding military victories. Instead, we solemnly commemorate an outstanding military defeat. That is not because it was a strategy we can necessarily be proud of but because of the blood that was spilt, the injuries that were felt and, most importantly, the values that were forged on the sand that day at Gallipoli. These are values that all Australians hold near and dear to their hearts. These are values that represent our entire nation. Lest we forget.

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