The final reception for the prize: a chance to share and reflect

2018 Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize Reception in the RSL SA Hall

7th December, 2018

The 2018 Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize Reception was held yesterday in the RSL SA Memorial Hall. Again, thank you to RSL SA for their amazing support with the prize and continued involvement. The reception is a chance for the group to get together for one last time and share their reflections and learning with family, education staff and the veteran community. 

The students did a great job reflecting on their favourite moment form the trip and our guest speakers were wonderful in setting the scene for the occasion. Here are just some photographs from the reception that show the great confidence and enthusiasm of the students and the sincere involvement of our guests.

Broson Horan, RSL SA/NT President delivers the opening address.

Diana Hunt addresses the gathering, describing the reasons for her Nui Dat picture choice.

Koby Poulton thanks Deonne Smith, Director in the Department for Education for her support with the Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize over the years.

Neva van Raalte shares her impressions of the Cu Chi Tunnels.

Angelique Dellaney talks about the importance of the story telling of Mr T ... and shows the amazing photograph she took of Mr T.

Jenny Tran showed her wonderful video of the trip - what a great effort and a real surprise to view such a well made and co-ordinated effort.

Cheryl Cates, RSL SA delegate for the trip shares her Long Tan experience.

Oliver Shephard-Bayly talks politics and his impressions of Vietnam.

Rob Manton, Director of Veterans SA addresses the gathering - great stories and a really important perspective re: veterans presented. 

Lainie Anderson, History SA launches the 2019 Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize Reception and tells the story of the Smith brothers.

Simon Kelly, Catholic Education SA delegate for the prize and a great supporter of the prize for many years is presented with a thank you gift by Laj Thind and Lila Weidenbach.

Elspeth Grant gets a hug from Angelique Dellaney for all her support on the trip and being just a great teacher chaperone.

Malcolm McInerney, Lainie Anderson and Rob Kearney with the 2019 Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize poster. Rob and Lainie will be very important people as the 2019 prize progresses. 

Well, that's it for the 2018 Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize - what a great group, a great trip and hopefully not the end to the friendships and learning journey for all involved.

Good luck for the future - it has been a pleasure working with you all.

Malcolm

We all like to laugh! What a weapon for peace and understanding

Laughter Yoga- what a wonderful surprise!

Andrew Penny writes:

Vietnam- a country of wonderful surprises and delights every day

"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter." 

 Mark Twain

What a privilege to attend the Spirit of Anzac competition! My sincere thanks to Malcolm, Department for Education, the Premier and South Australian Government for maintaining this study tour. I felt blessed to have learnt so much and feel that it has changed my life.

In reflecting on our adventure, I must admit that the kindness, friendly and graciousness of the Vietnamese people will stick with me.

Martin was a wonderful tour guide, endlessly patient, gracious, honest and funny. The walk down from Camp Carroll with Peter and Martin is one of my happiest memories from the trip as locals waved and smiled, the children rode past us, spoke to us, laughed with us and at us. Along the way we had a chance to learn a little bit more about Martin and his life outside of being a Tour Guide.

I have chosen this photograph because even the final day of our time in Vietnam had a wonderful surprise. We left our hotel for a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake at 6.00am and I continued to appreciate the dedication of the Vietnamese people to physical exercise and well-being. Gym, badminton, jogging, ballroom dancing all occurring down at the park. Malcolm approached a Laughter Yoga group who immediately invited us to join in. Complete strangers held hands and laughed our way through several yoga sets. What a delight it was to relax and laugh with these remarkable people. One lady proudly told me her daughter was studying in Melbourne.

I walked away remembering Ewan Mc Gregor’s comment in the Long Way Round that “deep down people are the same across the world”. We all like to laugh! What a weapon for peace and understanding between different cultures, races and people. It was a remarkably simple but effective way of connecting two cultures and developing rapport and understanding between people.

Finally, we can be hopeful for the future of Australia given the character of our students. I lost count of the number of times foreign tourists stopped me to commend our students on their behaviour. They represented South Australia and themselves in a very positive way throughout the study tour.

I came out of Vietnam full of ideas and thoughts from history to culture, to politics

Oliver Shephard-Bayly writes:

In the cloud of Communism

Although the pure ambition of Marxist Communism seems to have left the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, being in its cloud allowed me to greatly reflect on its legacy. Walking through the streets of Hanoi we saw signs hailing the triumph of communism. With the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh in his mausoleum, draped in the communist colours and surrounded by sorrowful mourners, I could see the true feeling the Vietnamese people appeared to have for this little man.

Having previously studied the great personality cults of the 20^th century, I  have contemplated the effectiveness of it all. Did people really believe in the myth and just accept the propaganda that was so often promoted by these authoritative leaders and their party. I was amazed by the respect in an almost sacramental way Vietnamese people talked of Uncle Ho, although I understand some people may put this on for show to escape government harassment. Such is unknown to us in Australia. What seems clear is even today a considerable percentage of the population has a great respect to their ‘dear leader’ in an almost religious way.  

While pacing around the mausoleum I also reflected on communism's political legacy. Although communism fell in the Soviet Union and economic liberalisation in the east is celebrated (and rightly so), the legacy of State totalitarianism has still not ended in Vietnam. You can see this as you walk around and see patriotic posters, the strong police presence and read the government newspapers. I wonder whether Vietnam will ever transition to a liberal democracy like Australia? Will the communist party continue to have a grasp over Vietnam for years to come? It’s probably somewhere in between.     

Being in a different political environment also makes you question your own. In Vietnam I contemplated whether our heavily liberalised individualist society is the best structure? Certainly, it’s got its merits, but I think what I saw in Vietnam of the philosophy that you are just a societal cog and not a selfish individual is worth thinking about. Although I find the erosion of individual rights appalling, I am interested in the mentality that you are connected to a society which you give what you can and receive what you need. 

I also found the Vietnamese approach to the welfare system compelling. At every park I looked at the woman sweeping up the leaves. Being paid by the state to do this simple task gave these women a purpose and dignity to have money for their own work. As I don’t know much about the system, I cannot say if I would support such an approach in Australia but the idea that anyone can get a simple job with the State if they wish, is a comforting one. I believe as technology progresses and manual skills become less in demand, we will need policies to provide an income to unemployed people, whilst providing them with a purpose in life. I wonder how we can reflect on systems like this around the world to find solutions to our own problems, in the present and future.  

So, I came out of Vietnam full of ideas and thoughts from history to culture, to politics, each of which are so intertwined. I cannot easily separate them.

I am so grateful for having such an amazing opportunity with so many incredible and interesting people and I hope that I can continue to ponder these amazing societal thoughts back home.

Makes me both happy and sad

Walking through the streets of Hoi An

Koby Poulton writes:

Going through the photos from our Spirit of the Anzac experience, I can’t believe how much I miss Vietnam. It’s unreal how I have met friends that will hopefully last a lifetime. We have seen some of the most extraordinary places, eaten some of the most exotic food and learnt so much about both sides of war and it’s heroes in only the two weeks we were there.

This photo that I have chosen to share was taken towards the end of the trip on a walk much like the morning walks that we took with Malcolm each day. He really wanted us to explore each area we were staying in and see the people of each city start their day. This photo shows everyone coming together, talking, having a laugh and recollecting on the last two weeks. I specifically love this moment because if a random stranger were to look at this they would probably think that the teenagers in this snap have known each other for a long time, as we all look so close. We look so caught up in our own conversations and it may seem as though we haven’t realised how beautiful the serenity is. But looks can be deceiving and it’s funny to think that before those two weeks most of us were pretty much strangers to each other but the experiences and stories we shared in those two weeks were not only fun times but some of the most serious times I’ve had in my life.

Originally I told the story of Horace Alfred Cadd (Caddy) and once in Vietnam I got to share the story of John Frances Gillespie and pay my respects to his heroic story in the place where he died. Together we all shared a story of a hero, it was sad and we were all affected. This photo for me shows the intense part of the trip was over and we were able to relax and enjoy Vietnam for things other than war.

Looking at this photo with the clean streets of Vietnam, with gorgeous trees hanging over our heads it really is an absolutely amazing place. Thinking back on the trip and the photos that were taken makes me both happy and sad because I feel as though it all went too quick and I worry that I didn’t get to capture every single memory. But each photo from the trip brings me joy knowing that I will remember this for the rest of my life, I mean how could I possibly forget it?

No one will be able to understand how we felt on this day.

Lucy Smith writes: 

I find it hard to write about this trip, because I feel nobody will understand. Nobody but us can understand the sadness yet gratefullness and happiness we felt on those 14 days.

The photo I chose was taken by Malcolm and depicts us trekking 13 km up a hill to Camp Carroll. Camp Carroll was a US Marine Corps Artillery Base located 8 km out of Cam Lao. It was the scene of the largest offensive so far in the war in an attack on the base on March 30^th 1972. On this day more than 200 rounds of rockets and artillary shells were fired in the first hour of the attack. It must have been a gruesome and terrifying battle.

 On the day we were there, it was steamy and hot and we could hear the sounds of people moving around in their houses – living their everyday lives in peace. Dogs would bark as we walked past and soldiers on motorbikes were waving and smiling at us. Butterflies fluttered past our faces as we smelt the freshness of the air around us, it was something completely new.

No one will be able to understand how we felt on this day. The sun was hot, beaming down on our backs and the steady incline was burning our feet. Its insane to imagine how the serenity of the world around us could have been marked by such hatred and grief. Every step we took reminded us of how it would have felt to be standing there 40+ years ago. Thinking about how the soldiers had to fight on this landscape made us feel melancholy.

Never will I be able to forget how good it felt to finally reach the top of that hill. We spent a large amount of time at the top recovering from the hot and steamy 3 km walk we had just completed. But, we also sat there admiring the scenery. The monument was so beautiful to see and really forced us to think about the history of where we were standing. The gruesome nature of the fighting that occurred on this hill is crazy to imagine when you are standing there, right where it all happened, in the peacefulness of 2018.

Seeing history come to life

Holly Wallman writes:

The Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize has shown me that history’s impact is not limited to the past, because it is equally integral in shaping our future. When I first entered the competition, having the opportunity to research Matron Ethel Sarah Davidson allowed me to see not just the statistics behind World War One, but also one of the many incredible stories of sacrifice it entailed.

Upon being awarded the amazing opportunity to travel to Vietnam, I did not fathom just how impactful the trip would be for me. From walking the footsteps that Australians walked during the Vietnam War in places such as Nui Dat, to being culturally immersed in Vietnam through walking around its cities, the trip allowed me to walk the path of the very history that I have studied in classrooms.

Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels was particularly valuable to me, because I was able to experience what those during the Vietnam War would have faced in the tunnels first-hand. Seeing those taller than me struggle to even enter the tunnels, as well as feeling the pressures of underground confinement for just a few minutes showed me just how horrific the conditions of war can be, even for those who are not fighting.

The experience of crawling through those tunnels was one that I could never have while reading information in a textbook, and truly brought to life the petrifying situations that conflict can bring. The constant fear of being discovered, facing diseases and the perils of being stuck underground are almost unimaginable for those who have not faced such horrors. Travelling through the tunnels showed me just how much harm war can bring, because it can not only hurt those on the battlefield, but also innocent people.

Imagining so many people with individualised stories in these tunnels, even young children, I truly felt that I witnessed the human impact of war. The idea of considering that other human beings can put each other in such situations is not only frightening, but horrifying. However, I believe that understanding the horrors of war and learning about this aspect of our history is important to our society, not just so that we can learn from our past, but so that we can create a better future.

Researching and learning about the experiences of Graham Leonard Norley and hearing the stories of others who fought in the Vietnam War was incredible. I think that stories are immensely powerful, because they shift our focus from mere numbers to a much deeper, humanised understanding of the world.

From this trip, I have gained many memories which will remain with me forever. I am so lucky to have had the chance to go on a journey not only so educationally rewarding, but also enjoyable through the friendships I have developed and experiences that I have had. I believe that the most valuable part of the Premier’s ANZAC Spirit School Prize was not only learning about history, but seeing history come to life.

I was walking the same footsteps and path

Angelique Dellaney writes:

This captured moment is of former Vietnam Army conscript, Mr T whom accompanied us for several days during our two-week journey. At the moment the photograph is taken, we are located at Nui Dat within the Phuoc Toy Province and standing on what was known as the ‘Kanga Pad’ that was used by the Australians during the Vietnam War. Mr T was holding up a photograph of what this location looked like throughout the duration of the Vietnam War. In the background of this photo, there is a silhouette of a mountain which was known as the SAS (Special Air Service) Hill.

I found it extremely eye opening and overwhelming as Mr T was sharing stories. The emotions I experienced for the majority of the tour were very confusing. They were difficult to grasp initially but once the pieces started fitting together I was able to gain more of an understanding and insight into the war. This insight was created as Mr T began to share stories and information about the Vietnam War.

The statements and thoughts that caused the most emotion in me whilst overseas was that people risked their lives during the war, and some had paid the ultimate sacrifice 50-60 years ago, possibly exactly where I was standing. Right now! I was walking the same footsteps and path of those whom were most courageous and passionate. Anywhere we had travelled, whether it being Saigon, Vung Tau and Nui Dat, Hue, Ha Noi or even Ha Long Bay, these thoughts were always rushing through my head. Questioning and drifting thoughts of what people had experienced, seen and felt in the past was something that I was craving and needing to know more about. Although we had visited all of these amazing, picturesque locations and tourist attractions in Vietnam, I felt as if Vung Tau and Nui Dat, and even Ha Long Bay were the most reflective moments for me throughout the duration of those two weeks. 

When we all look at this photo, with our varied perspectives of the experiences we had whilst on tour, we are all going to have different emotions, thoughts and memories come back to us. This photo, and specifically the expression on Mr T’s face is powerful and evoke emotions. This is why I have selected this photo to share with you. The moment we were introduced to Mr T he instantly gave me and I’m sure many others a very positive and happy vibe. Mr T was always smiling or laughing and was constantly more than happy to share stories and answer any questions we may have had about the experiences and history of the Australians in Vung Tau and Nui Dat, I felt this was one of the most overwhelming and confronting moments of the tour. When talking, the expression on Mr T’s face changed dramatically from being happy to emotional very quickly - every time he delved into the depths of his thoughts and stories from the war. These changed facial expressions were and still are something I found very challenging to accept, and it is the power in this change of expressions that has made me choose this image. This experience will be one I guarantee that I will never forget.