  THE ANZAC STORY - What does it mean? It is a school performance designed specifically to offer students the opportunity to learn through an interactive experience of THE ANZACs. Based on the HSIE Unit "Gallipoli and the ANZAC Tradition" it is an educational resource that no school should go without. Students hear the anecdotes of the soldiers at war in the trenches at Gallipoli and learn through a heart-warming performance about Why Australia as a new nation participated in this overseas conflict. While the school performance is based Year 7-10 Board
of Studies History Syllabus, Primary School Students can experience the
same interactive show and the importance of commemorating ANZAC DAY. Can you hear Australia's heroes marching?
The performance depicts the courage and mate ship that gave birth to the ANZAC spirit. It tells the story of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps under orders from London landing at the wrong spot at Gallipoli Beach on the Turkish coast. They were to face sheers cliffs and a barrage of defence fire from the Turkish Forces which became a military disaster. Australia as a country was fourteen years old and was made up of colonies. This was the first time we had been to war as a nation and as part of the British Commonwealth they acquitted themselves as a nation under extreme circumstances. The show is set in the trenches at Gallipoli four months after the landing following the Battle of Lone Pine. The audience are taken into the action as it is seen through the eyes of the professional soldier, the Company Sergeant Major - a Boer War Veteran, a young recruit and a nurse. The school performance portrays the young recruit Alex Peterson who is proud to have enlisted and to do his part not fully understanding the horror of war and treating it like an adventure. Arriving at the beach he meets the Company Sergeant Major, Norman O’Connor a battle hardened soldier who began his service in the Boer War and who is in command along with Bill a veteran of this campaign. Then there is the Army Medical Corps situated on the Island of Lemnos where Sister Peterson in on duty. The play involves students as
Stretcher Bearers to follow in the footsteps of Jack Simpson Kirkpatrick
and his donkey Duffy, it deals with the question of conscription and the
war effort being made by Australia and whether we have the population to
replace the losses.
The performance uses lights and audio to stimulate the senses of the students to involve them and give them an insight into Australia's role and all it asks, is that we remember the service men and women past and present and keep their memory alive. It is hoped that this production will go a long way in helping the younger generation to understand a little more about why we celebrate ANZAC Day. It is performed with the greatest respect to the memory of the soldiers and is a moving presentation that treats the subject of the ANZAC and war with honour. LEST WE FORGET! To visit the 18th Battalion Living History website click here. THE ANZAC SHOW IS A REVERSE EXCURSION or an INCURSION Prices
start from $15.50 per child.
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It shows the loneliness of the men and their links
with home such as receiving the gum leaves and wattle received in their
mail from home and the letters they write back to their loved ones.