Premier farewells Anzac Prize students

The 2015 recipients of the Premier’s Anzac Prize were today farewelled at a special ceremony in Brisbane’s Anzac Square.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk joined Education Minister Kate Jones to wish the 70 students and 10 chaperones a safe and memorable journey before departing on Wednesday for a two-week expedition through Turkey, Belgium and France.

“This truly is an historic event and a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these students and their chaperones,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“The 2015 Premier’s Anzac Prize recipients will have the honour of attending the Dawn Service at Gallipoli on the 100th anniversary of the landing of our soldiers at Anzac Cove.

“The whole journey through Gallipoli and the World War I battlefields of the Western Front will be an incredibly valuable educational experience that they will be able to share with their school communities when they return.

“The tradition of celebrating the lives and experiences of our Anzac soldiers is a very important part of our culture and history in Australia.”

2015 Premier’s Anzac Prize winner Renee Drury, a Year 11 student at Clairvaux Mackillop College, said she was very excited about the trip and about attending the Anzac Centenary commemorations in Gallipoli.

“There are so many people in Australia and New Zealand who would love to travel to Gallipoli to go to the Dawn Service this year and can’t for whatever reason,” Renee said.

“It’s really exciting and such a privilege that we can be there. It’s going to be an amazing experience.”

2015 Premier’s Anzac Prize winner Bayley Williams, a Year 9 student at Blackall State School, said he was looking forward to visiting Gallipoli and learning more about the Anzac soldiers’ experiences.

“I’ll be able to bring all my experiences back to Queensland to share with my school and the community as they have been very supportive from when I first started my submission,” Bayley said.

Education Minister Kate Jones said the State Library of Queensland and the Queensland Museum would work with members of the 2015 Premier’s Anzac Prize group on their return to showcase and document their journey.

“The State Library has allocated a special gallery space for the Anzac Centenary that will include contributions from the students, which will be on display from 31 July to 27 September this year,” Ms Jones said.

“Students will be able to share important memorabilia from their trip including photographs, sound and video recordings, and personal journal entries.

“The Queensland Museum is also planning to incorporate some of these items in a permanent exhibition in the future.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the students to both share their journey with Queenslanders and to work with the wonderful curators and other professionals at the State Library and Queensland Museum.”

Ms Jones said Queenslanders could follow the students’ journey online at http://education.qld.gov.au/students/grants/scholarships/anzac/index.html

More information on the Queensland Government’s Anzac Centenary events and initiatives is available at http://anzac100.initiatives.qld.gov.au/

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