Students journey to honour our fallen

A group of Tasmanian students will tomorrow embark on a journey of a lifetime, to walk in the footsteps of our fallen at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the centenary of ANZAC.

The group includes six Year 9 students who are recipients of the Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize, which is named in honour of Tasmania’s last World War I veteran, and seven Year 11 students who won the Department of Education’s ANZAC Centenary Competition.

The Year 11 students will attend the ANZAC Day Centenary Dawn Service at Gallipoli, and tour other significant historical sites in Turkey, Belgium and the Western Front in France.

The Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize group will visit the Western Front and attend the Dawn Service at Villers Bretonneux. They will also visit the grave sites of Tasmanian soldiers they have been researching since receiving the prize where they will share the soldier’s story.

Joining the Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize group is Mr Terry Roe JP representing the Returned and Services League, Adam Brooks MP Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Trade, a Department of Education officer and two officers from the Department of Premier and Cabinet as tour leaders.

The ANZAC Centenary Competition and the Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize take students to the battle grounds of Europe, giving insight into history that no classroom can provide.

I wish all the students a very special trip and thank them for their commitment to recognising and capturing the essence of the ANZAC spirit so it can be passed on to future generations.

Winners of the ANZAC Centenary Competition:

Kaitelin Campbell, Newstead College
Emily Doi, Hobart College
Rachel Gregory, Launceston Church Grammar School
Elise Jurasovic, Calvin Christian School
Damian Mazur, Hobart College
Jack Soward, Launceston College
Luis Wilson, Don College

Recipients of the 2014 Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize (travelling this year):

Jenna Carmichael, Sacred Heart College
Alice Curtain, Ogilvie High School
Lilah Gmelig, Ogilvie High School
Liam Grieve, Burnie High School
Jacoba Sayers, Rose Bay High School
Olivia Toohey, Calvin Christian School
Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Education and Training