Trip of a lifetime: Belmont High School principal Gary Schultz with Zahn Gane.
ERIN PEARSON
IT all began with a fascination for war heroes.
Now Belmont High School student Zahn Gane is preparing for a dream holiday after winning a coveted Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize.
The award, for demonstrating the meaning of the Anzac spIrit to entrants, will send 10 winners on a study tour of military sites in Gallipoli, Malaysia and Singapore.
Zahn said his prize was a “dream come true”.
“I’ve always been interested in military history and I also do air force cadets, so when I saw the award in the school newsletter I thought it would be a great opportunity.
“I became friends with World War II veteran Ern Brough, from Belmont, who fought in Egypt at Tobruk. He told me all his stories off mateship.
“It just opened my eyes and grew my interest even more.”
Zahn credited his school principal, Gary Schultz, with helping him complete his application over five months.
He also faced opinions that any interest in war history was “a bit nerdy”.
“But the mateship and generosity shown in war is still relevant today, so it kept my interest alive,” Zahn said.
Zahn’s mother, Helen, was proud of her son’s accomplishment.
“He even worked at Newtown Farmers” Mar-ket selling chook poo to fund his wartime collection,” she laughed.
“A lot of kids these days say the war means nothing to them but kids need to remember the war and how it shaped our past.”
