PREMIER’S PRIZE WINNERS HEAD TO GALLIPOLI FOR ANZAC DAY

The students and chaperones participating in the 2016 Premier’s Anzac Prize tour are:

–        Cooper Hauff – Blackall State School;

–        Denya Hopkins – Urangan State High School;

–        Sophie Austin – Brigidine College, Indooroopilly;

–        Sally Higgins – Assumption College, Warwick;

–        Liam Doonican – Merrimac State High School;

–        Tasman Pearl – St Edmund’s College, Ipswich;

–        Tia Shadford – Brigidine College, Indooroopilly;

–        Ella Woodgate – Matthew Flinders Anglican College;

–        Christy Guinea – Pimlico State High School (Lead Chaperone); and

–        Jonathan Burt – Benowa State High School (Chaperone).

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today farewelled Queensland’s 2016 Premier’s Anzac Prize tour group which leaves tomorrow for Gallipoli.

Ms Palaszczuk said prize winners would tour the Western Front, attend the Gallipoli Dawn Service and visit a range of other historic locations.

“On behalf of all Queenslanders, I congratulate the eight winning students of the 2016 Premier’s Anzac Prize and their two teacher chaperones and wish them a memorable and safe trip,” the Premier said.

“I know this will be a rewarding and inspirational experience for these young Queenslanders.

“They will be a part of the great Australian tradition of honouring the service and sacrifice of Australia’s armed service men and women.

“Visiting sites that have such a strong historical connection to Australia is a powerful way for young people to celebrate and honour the lives and experiences of our Anzac soldiers.”

The Palaszczuk Government has provided $750,000 from 2016 to 2018 so students and the community can continue to reap the benefits of this unique educational program.

The Premier joined Education Minister Kate Jones to farewell the group and present each student their winner’s certificate and commemorative pin at a farewell afternoon tea in Brisbane today.

Minister Jones said she encouraged Queensland high school students from Years 8 to 11 to apply for the 2017 Premier’s Anzac Prize competition which opens today and closes on 16 September.

Students are required to produce a five-minute multimedia presentation about how the Anzac tradition has shaped Australia, why it is still important and how future generations can keep the tradition alive.

Ms Jones said this year’s winning students started their research during a two-day Young Historians Workshop at the State Library of Queensland on 14 and 15 January this year.

“History will come alive for these students as they find the gravesites of their chosen service men and women and read tribute eulogies on location,” she said.

“I’m sure it will be particularly emotional, especially considering that some of these service people are relatives of the students.

“I encourage Queenslanders to follow the tour online where they can read the students’ diary notes, view their photographs and watch videos.

Matthew Flinders Anglican College student and one of the prize-winners, Ella Woodgate, said she was excited at the opportunity to reflect on the research she had done while visiting memorial sites overseas.

“I feel very privileged to be traveling to Gallipoli for Anzac Day and I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit battlefields across the Western Front where the Anzacs fought,” Ella said.

“I’m looking forward to commemorating and sharing stories from researching my family members and a soldier of my age, who lost their lives during the First World War.”

After visiting war memorial sites across the Western Front in France they will return to Australia onWednesday 4 May.

For more information on the Premier’s Anzac Prize and to learn more about the Anzac tradition by following the 2016 prize tour online, visit: www.education.qld.gov.au/anzac-prize.