By Christine Couzens
As the Member for Geelong, it is always an honour to represent the people of Geelong at the many Anzac Day services throughout the Geelong electorate. Anzac Day is not a celebration of war; it is a reminder to all of us of the devastation and loss of life that touches many.
It is heartening to see so many people, including children, attending Anzac services to pay their respects and honour those who lost their lives or suffered injury through the impact of war and peace keeping activities.
I recently had the privilege of being appointed by the Minister for Veterans, John Eren, to join 22 amazing school students who won the opportunity to attend the Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Study Tour visiting Darwin and Singapore.
These students should be very proud, not only for winning the study tour prize but for their great representation of Victoria.
Also on the tour were Veterans Dal Crocker and Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Crowley, teachers Ian Francis, Laura Robertson and Rose Hill and Veterans Branch tour managers Karen Gilbert and Angela Bourke, all of whom provided significant support to the students. These people gave all of us valuable insights into our own Australian history of war and that of the people of Singapore.
I have always thought that I had a reasonable understanding of Australia’s war history, however as I visited the many sites on this tour I realised there was much more to learn.
The aim of the study tour is to help Year 9 and 10 students to better understand and keep alive the memory of the Anzacs and their contribution to modern Australia, to understand and consider the realities of war and peace in our history and our world today, and to bring back their knowledge and experiences and share that with their family, school and community, so that they also benefit from this experience.
There were many highlights for me on this tour, in Darwin the underground storage tunnels and, sadly, the site of the Darwin Post Office, bombed by the Japanese, killing all of the workers inside. On this site is now the Parliament House which incorporated part of the original remaining wall of the Post Office building. We held a commemorative service at the Adelaide River War Cemetery laying a wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice.
The Tiwi Islands was a great experience, Aboriginal elders performed a smoking ceremony and welcome to country, shared their art and cultural history and the stories of the impact of war on their community.
In Singapore, the Changi Museum, dedicated to those who suffered during the dark years of WWII was a chilling reminder of the atrocities of war and the experiences of POWs. The Battlebox at Fort Canning Hill where the decision was made to surrender to the Japanese in February 1942 was full of historic stories, and the remainder of the Ford Factory building, now a museum, was where Singapore met the Japanese to surrender.
We also visited and held a commemorative service at the Krangi War Cemetery.
The Spirt of Anzac Study Tour is a valuable opportunity for students to learn first-hand the impact and involvement of Australia’s war history. Applications are now open for the 2018 study tour. Information can be found at www.dpc.vic.gov.au/soap
