Today was a pretty busy and exciting day as we got to meet the Mayor of Peronne and explore many more cemeteries to pay our respects. We left the hotel at 7.45am and made our way to "The French School", where we shared breakfast with the students as they asked us interesting questions about life in Australia and the meaning of Anzac Day and its importance to us as a nation. We were also taken on a tour of the school exploring all of the hallways and singing the French national anthem to the music students. Macca put on quite a show for the students, bouncing like a kangaroo along the hallway!
After our tour of the French school we said our goodbyes and made our way to Heath Cemetary where Natalia read her poem and James Abbott recited the ode. After our ceremony we headed back to the bus and made our way to a war museum on Victoria Street. We found the museum very interesting and we're all intrigued with the precious artefacts used within the First World War. We also had a photo in front of the school that Australian soldiers helped to save in the war. After the Aussies saved the town they didn't want to ever forget this sacrifice so they had a sign painted on their school saying "Do Not Forget Australia." After the museum we travelled to Adelaide Cemetary which contained the 'remains of the unknown soldier'. We were all very emotional when it came to this as Mr Croft read the speech that was presented by P.J Keating to honour the men that died without their remains ever being recovered. This cemetery was surrounded by canola plants, which gave a beautiful view to the side.
It was now time to travel to the city of Peronne, where we met the Mayor and spent time in the city hall. We then had the opportunity to ask the Mayor questions as we sat in the council chambers. Afterwards, we explored the magnificent artefacts that are kept within the hall. One of the council members explained to us how during the First World War when the town was under threat, they buried all of the artefacts underground to prevent them from being destroyed by bombs.
This then brought us to our last stop for the day which was the Mont St Quentin, a memorial for the 2nd division where they made an act of courage to do the impossible. They succeeded in taking the area from the Germans with 1/3 of the amount of men they were supposed to have. It is said to be the greatest battle of the war. The original memorial was taken by the Germans as it contained the German eagle flat on its back with an Australian soldier looming over it with a bayonet. The new memorial is now an Australian soldier by itself. We held a ceremony where Dante read her poem and the ode and James Moulden played his bugle. We then hopped back on the bus and headed back to the hotel for a few hours rest before dinner.
To finish off the day we had a special farewell dinner for our tour guide, Colin, at one of his favourite restaurants. There were a range of scores with their lowest score being a 5 and the highest being a 10. Sadly though, Sheree and Leonie only scored a 36 for the night putting them in second place for the My Restaurant Rules competition. Tomorrow night, Mrs Curran and Miss Bottega will be introducing us to their restaurant with the "best ribs in town"!
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