Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to pay credit to St Mary's Catholic School for a grant that they received to create a new Anzac garden under the commemorative Anzac program that has been conducted throughout Australia in each and every electorate. St Mary's will establish a commemorative garden at the school which will be a focal point for the Anzac Day and remembrance services in the future. The garden will feature rosemary bushes and Gallipoli roses—plants which have been grown from seeds taken from Gallipoli after the battles. It will also feature red sculptured poppies to reflect the original Flanders poppy fields; together with life-size Anzac soldier silhouettes as a reminder of the service and sacrifice of our diggers.

I was delighted to go along and launch the project at St Mary's Catholic School earlier this month. The funds have been allocated from the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program. The new garden will be a great addition to the school and will be a lasting legacy for the whole of the school. It will be a fitting memorial to the hundredth anniversary of World War I. Parents, teachers and students will all help with the garden. The local Men's Shed will also help out with the sculptures of the poppies. This is a fantastic project and an excellent way to remember the contributions of Australian soldiers at Gallipoli.