2015 Collie Senior High School Anzac Tour: 2014 Anzac Day

The Dawn Service

The Full Town Service in Collie

Getting ready for the service.

Group Photos

The Guard of Honour

As the parade arrives through our guard of honour.

As the Parade Arrives

The 2014 ANZAC Day Collie town service commences.

The Service

Brianna gives her speech

Brianna's Speech:

"Today, ANZAC Day, we put aside our busy lives to honour our soldiers, the brave men and women who fought for our country, and, in many cases, made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives to ensure the freedom and prosperity of the nation they called home, Australia. As a nation, we should be so proud of the men and women who fight for their country, and yet today fewer and fewer young Australians fully understand the real meaning of ANZAC, and often take for granted the free and open society that we live in. As years have gone by, soldiers have been portrayed in movies and stories as strong, fit men with extensive training and such advanced weaponry technology and defence systems, it’s sometimes difficult to imagine soldiers as anything other than action hero’s.

At times, the media’s misinterpretation of military and armed forces often blinds younger generations to the actual happenings of war, and it’s often very difficult for them to learn and live by the legacy of the soldiers who fought for our country. In most cases, kids today see our diggers as born and bred fighters who wanted nothing more than to be sent off to war for armed combat. In reality, most of the Anzacs were people from all walks of life who with a lot of enthusiasm, but some with not a lot of experience in life, and very few with experience in war. Sure, a lot of the soldiers were throwing themselves at the opportunity to fight for Australia, but the reasons behind the willingness to stand on the front line for our nation are often lost in translation from generation to generation.

However, I do believe it is possible to regain what is lost, and remember the true meaning of the ANZACs, and recover the values they left at the shores of Gallipoli and what every serving man and woman has endeavoured to live up to ever since.

The fact that we take for granted that we are not at war every day of our lives is a blessing but also leads to a sense of complacency? I’m sure I can say on behalf of everyone that we are so glad we don’t wake up every morning with the sound of shells in the near distance, and that we don’t arise to a heightened threat of being killed. It is something we should all be so grateful for - the work men and women did, and continue to do, to ensure our country is safe for years to come. However, taking such a wonderful thing as freedom and safety for granted is a curse in its own way, it makes us forget why we have the peace in the first place, and often become blasé about conflicts that happen around the world right now that kill and maim children, women and the elderly.

I think it’s important to not only remember the ANZACs, but to show that we care enough to practice the values they left behind every day, in any small way we can. The ANZACs taught us respect, mate ship, courage, pride and resourcefulness. These values, the ANZAC legacy, have become an important part of being Australian, and are something we should all aspire to demonstrate and show in our everyday lives.

We are so lucky in the fact that we are not being asked to go to war, and that we don’t risk our lives each and every day, but this isn’t to say that we can’t show the values that were shown in a time of war for our country. We can take pride in our country in such simple and easy ways – pride can be as effortless as putting your rubbish in a bin, and we can show respect for others by tolerating, or even supporting those who are different to ourselves. You do not have to serve in the army for our country to show your pride in it, and you don’t have to be fighting alongside people to respect their choices. As I stated previously, I am so thankful we are not at war as a nation.

I seek not to glorify war, but think that we should aim to honour the memory of those who have served our country every day, in the way we go about living our lives."