Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Simpson Prize is awarded each year by the History Teachers Association of Australia on behalf of the Australian government. The competition is conducted for years 9 and 10 students across the country and requires students to submit an essay or presentation on the history of the Anzacs. This year’s competition topic was ‘Has the Anzac legend changed over 95 years?’

I am pleased to say that Thomas Posa, a student from Melbourne High School, in my electorate of Higgins, received a runner-up prize and will be in Canberra for a three-day educational tour. Ms Geraldine Carrodus, a teacher at Sacre Coeur—also in the electorate of Higgins—will accompany the winning students to Gallipoli for the Anzac Service. Ms Carrodus was chosen for her passion for Australia’s Anzac history.

This is a wonderful competition that instils in our students knowledge and respect for the Anzacs, who form such an important part of our Australian national identity. By learning about the lives of ordinary Australians who sailed to Gallipoli to fight a foreign enemy, deprived of basic comforts and with little knowledge of what would confront them, students learn of the tremendous sacrifices that these soldiers undertook for us. They learn that the legend of the Anzacs is not just a mythology but something firmly rooted in the history of our country.

As Thomas says in his essay, it is the actions of the average soldier like Simpson and his donkey that truly inspire us. John Simpson Kirkpatrick, who brought the wounded from the frontline, exposed to enemy fire, was someone who put the welfare of others above his own. He was shot and killed in Gallipoli. Simpson has become an enduring part of the Anzac story, and it is fitting that this prize be named for him, as someone who embodies the extraordinary efforts of our soldiers from Australia and New Zealand.

After the Australian and New Zealand forces finally withdrew from Gallipoli, over 8,000 had lost their lives. Many who were left were physically wounded or were wounded mentally. The Anzacs would go on to have significant victories during the war in Egypt, in Palestine and on the Western Front. Since then they have been involved in a number of armed conflicts, from Kokoda and Tobruk to Long Tan. Yet it is Gallipoli that holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Australians. As Thomas put it in his essay:

For the ANZAC legend is not just about war. The values instilled by the ANZACs, while still as relevant as ever, have migrated from the forefront of our minds to our subconscious. The values embody the Australian of today, who is different from the Australian of the ANZACs’ time, but still shares the same beliefs, values and overriding sense of morality.

We could not put it better than that. Today we are very lucky not to live under a constant threat of war and tyranny. May it ever remain thus.