ANZAC DAY

1. ANZAC DAY AUSTRALIA’S SPIRIT WAS CREATED ON THIS DAY – AND CAPTURED BY THE HEARTS OF OUR YOUTH.

2. Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives. You are now living in the soil of a friendly country therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well. Captain Ataturk, who was in charge of the Turkish Army, wrote these words after the Battle of Gallipoli was lost by both sides… these words are engraved on the battle site, and remain important to both countries today

3. The battle was fought in tough, dangerous and unforgiving terrain Turkey is a long way from Australia The approach was bungled, and the troops arrived south of their proposed landing – this meant the men had no hope of attacking the Turkish Army because of the extreme terrain they faced. But this is where the ANZAC spirit began

4. World War 1 – England V Germany 1914. Battle of Gallipoli – 25th April 1915 Australia had never gone to war before this. Our troops had been assembled, men as young as 15 went to war. It was seen to be a proud, brave thing to do. Many boys lied about their age so that they could fight. Lots of people didn’t know or understand the dangers of war – you might say they went into this blind folded. At this stage in our history – Australia would do anything for England and the Queen. So, we sent troops away to be trained for the chance of a call up. Australia was training troops in Egypt – when they were called upon by their allies (friends in war) the British – to attack the Turkish army on their own soil. Many people say that the battle really had no point – that the British knew it was going to be a useless battle, but they were wanting control of Germany and attacking Turkey was a good thing…. Or so they thought! Please look around this website www.anzacsite.gov.au to find GREAT information. What else can you find out?

5. Every Australian now celebrates and commemorates ANZAC day – and it is quickly becoming our National Day. It’s VITAL that the children of today (that’s YOU!) know about ANZAC day and continue to celebrate it. We cannot let this part of our history disappear. We must keep the ANZAC spirit alive by remembering and talking about it each year. The very last ANZAC troop has died – his name was ALEC CAMPBELL – see what you can find on him. Many Australian’s make the trip to Gallipoli each year to participate in the dawn service. This is an incredible experience, Mrs Smith was lucky enough to make the trip from London – where she slept out overnight, in the hilly terrain of Gallipoli, to wake to remember the ANZACS at dawn (that’s sunrise!!) It was freezing cold, and there were thousands of people, but it was a spectacular moment. Check out some of the photographs….

6. At the Gallipoli site – a fallen soldier memorial – the Turkish flag is draped over it – after the battle, the ANZACS and the TURKS were best friends – even though they were fighting each other. The view of the beach landing – look how severe the terrain is… can you imagine climbing that, in the dark, with 30kgs on your back, wet and cold with bullets raining down all around you?

7. A memorial – it’s a triangle shape to represent the relationship between Turkey, Australia and New Zealand – looking through it you can see the beach Gallipoli.

8. Canons used to fight… Grave sites of soldiers from all countries – the youngest one (pictured) was only 15 yrs old. Many graves are unknown.

9. This is Lone Pine – an extremely important part of each ANZAC day service – see what you can find out about LONE PINE… there is a wonderful story about this tree – however it represents one of the vicious and costly battles of this war.

10. The Gallipoli Lone Pine Lives On Through the efforts of Mr Ed Williams of Wantirna, two pine trees - descendants of the famous Lone Pine of Gallipoli - have been obtained from Legacy for the Lysterfield Avenue of Honour. The two young trees have been placed by Ed and his wife Alice on either side of the memorial stone. The following article provided by Legacy tells the story of the perpetuation of the Lone Pine and the ideas it has come to symbolise. The Gallipoli "Lone Pine" has become a piece of living history in Australia. Every Australian soldier who served at Gallipoli knew Plateau 400 or "Lone Pine" - the scene of some of the fiercest hand-to-hand combat by Australians in World War One. The Plateau was distinguished by a solitary lone pine which bore silent witness to the heroism and tenacity of Australians who fought there. It was a heavily fortified Turkish trench position identified by a solitary Pinus Halepensis species Brutia commonly known as an "Aleppo Pine". At 5.30pm on 6th August 1915, Australians of the First Brigade attacked the Turkish trenches under heavy machine-gun and artillery fire. The Australians found the trenches were roofed over with pine logs covered with earth. They clawed the roofing back and jumped into the trenches below. After savage hand-to-hand fighting the trenches were taken by 6.00pm. Attack and counter attack continued until the 10th August when fighting at Lone Pine ceased and the position was firmly held in Australian hands. The six Australian Battalions involved lost 80 officers and 2197 men in the battle for Lone Pine. Turkish deaths were estimated at between 5,000 and 6,000. At Gallipoli, during the evacuation, 33 men of the 24th Battalion mounted a gallant action. They were left behind to keep up the pretence that the Lone Pine trenches were still occupied. They finally destroyed the remaining guns and embarked before daylight, twenty minutes before the appointed time and less than two hours before a storm blew up which would have made withdrawal impossible. Although the Lone Pine was destroyed in the fighting, it lives on today in Australia, which is where the Legacy Lone Pine story begins. During the withdrawal, a soldier, Sergeant Keith McDowell, picked up a pine cone from the original Lone Pine and placed it in his haversack as a souvenir. Sergeant McDowell carried the cone for the remainder of the war and when he returned to Australia, gave it to his aunt, Mrs Emma Gray of Grassmere near Warrnambool. "Here Aunty, you've got a green thumb, see if you can grow something out of this," the late Mrs Gray's son Alexander recalled. But it wasn't until some 12 years later that Mrs Gray planted the few seeds from the cone, five of which sprouted and grew into little trees. One of the pines eventually died but the remaining four survived. In May 1933, one was planted in Wattle Park on the occasion of the Trooping of the Colour by the 24th Battalion. On the 11th June 1933, the second tree was planted with full military honours by S.G. Savige of the 24th Battalion at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne where it now shades the well-loved statue of Simpson and his donkey. The late Lieutenant-General Sir Stanley Savige KBE, CB, DSO, MC, ED, was the founder of Melbourne Legacy. Formed in 1923, the Melbourne Legacy Club was the first such Club to be established. On the 18th June 1933, the third tree was planted at the Sisters near Terang, just north east of Warrnambool. This is the area where Mrs Gray's family lived and the home of several Gallipoli veterans. The fourth tree was planted in the Warrnambool Gardens on 23rd January 1934. In 1964 Legatee Tom Griffiths, then President of Warrnambool Legacy, put forward the idea that more seedlings should be raised in the Jubilee Year of Gallipoli from the established trees with the object of planting memorial trees throughout Australia in memory of those who fell in action at Lone Pine in 1915. Melbourne Legacy undertook the propagation and distribution of seedlings. With the assistance of the Shrine of Remembrance Trustees, permission was granted by the Melbourne City Parks and Gardens Curator to harvest a limited number of cones from the 24th Battalion tree at the Shrine and these were gathered by the Forests Commission and after the necessary preparatory treatment were planted in the Commission's nursery at Macedon. Approximately 150 seedlings were raised from these cones by Dr Grose, Director of Silviculture. Melbourne Legacy's Commemoration Committee was responsible for the collection, propagation, presentation and dedication of Lone Pines from the 24th Battalion tree at the Shrine of Remembrance. On the 14th September 1989 further seedlings were collected with the hope of raising 1000 trees from the seeds. This could not have been done without the invaluable assistance of the Department of Natural Resources and Dr Peter May at the Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture in Richmond, Victoria. Thus Legacy is helping to keep the memory of the Gallipoli "Lone Pine" alive - its spirit lives on today. Presentations are made to schools, ex-service organisations and interested bodies by Legacy Clubs in the hope that they will be cherished as a symbol of Australian nationhood and of its pride, devotion, courage, selflessness and sense of service to others. www.rlcnews.org.au/stories/clubs_and_organisations/the_gallipoli_lone_pine_lives_on

11. Trenches remaining all around the Gallipoli area – they were so small. Imagine living and fighting in these during wet, cold months – with hardly any food, and your mates getting sick and dying all around you.

12. What do you think these words mean?

13. A calm sunset over Gallipoli – it wasn’t like this the day the ANZAC troops landed… 10,000 Australian, New Zealand and Turkish people camped out over night in freezing conditions to wake up to commemorate the ANZAC dawn service. It was so quiet you could hear the small waves lapping at the shore…

14. Mrs Smith trying to get some sleep – it was absolutely freezing – but worth every minute. I was so proud to be Australian. This is the view behind where we were sleeping. This is the type of terrain that the ANZAC troops had to try and climb – while being rained on by bullets from the Turkish Army. Impossible.

15. All the people watching the service, paying their respects – with the incredible terrain behind us. As the sun rose, it got a little warmer – and everyone had 1 minute silence to remember the troops. Then we followed their steps up through the hills to the Australian War Memorial for a special service.

16. The Beach landing at Gallipoli. See how there isn’t much of a beach – and it’s all bushes, holes and hills. It would’ve been much worse on the morning of April 25th 1915. Thousands of Australians making their way through the hills to the War Memorial – we had paths, the troops wouldn’t have had this. On the way we found bullet casings – and some people found diggers teeth. It’s still untouched – it’s a very respectful place, as men have died there, and their bodies lay rest there.

17. The Australian War Memorial – And our flag.

18. Take your time to look through this website, read stories and see what you can find out about the Battle of Gallipoli – it’s a really important part to our history – it is your job to remember this, and share it with your children… Let the ANZAC SPIRIT live on… www.anzacsite.gov.au www.awm.gov.au if you go to this site, go to KIDS HQ, log in as gwps4ls and the password is mrssmith - you might find some interesting things 1.Who is a DIGGER? 2.How can we remember this special day? 3.Where can you go on April 25th to remember this? 4.What have you found out about ANZAC day? 5.Who was Simpson and his donkey? 6. The ANZACS and the TURKS became friends in the trenches – even though they were supposed to be fighting each other. What games did they used to play? 7. Can you find a bugle song called ‘THE LAST POST’ – how does this make you feel when you listen to it?