Year 5/6 Reflections on  Shrine of Remembrance

On Monday, the Year 5 and 6 students attended the 93rd ANZAC Commemoration Service for Students at the Shrine of Remembrance.

By Callum 

The Shrine of Remembrance and the ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony Reflection.

ATTENTION!! Yelled the commander to the cadets, FORWARD, MARCH, the soldiers walked in synchronisation to the middle of the ceremony and marched towards the flags. There were over 3,000 students attending the ceremony, and Monday marked the 93rd year of the student ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony. When we entered, we were greeted and handed a little Australian flag with a bit of rosemary for remembrance. We got seats, and the ceremony started with the guard of honour led by the young cadets. The things I learnt about were the story of a watch and The Great Escape. The story of the watch was about a trapped prisoner with a watch that had all his details engraved on the back. He wanted to escape, so he gave the watch to his friend who wasn't going to try to escape and said, “Give this to my family if I die,” and he ended up being one of the fifty prisoners who escaped and died. His mate ended up finding his brother and sisters and returning the watch many years later.

By Stella 

The first thing we did after arriving at the shrine was attend a lovely ceremony. We watched as Malvern High cadets performed the guard of honour, we heard amazing music and speeches and remembered the brave soldiers who fought for us to have peace. During the ceremony, students laid wreaths, and the governor was heavily involved. Many people showed up to pay respects, and a lot were family members of those who fought. It was solemn and disappointing that the world wars happened in the first place. 

After the ceremony, we had a tour of the shrine by a man named John. We were shown various items from the war and told the stories behind them, many were very sad and interesting. They painted a clear image of how horrific the war was and how lucky we were that it was over. 

The parts of the shrine that I remembered the most were the bottles, the statue and the list of names. The bottles were glass bottles retrieved from Hiroshima after the nuclear bomb was dropped, showing how intense the bombs were because the glass bottles had melted. The statue was of two men, a father and son, back to back, protecting their country from different wars and places. The list of names was a list of all the Victorian soldiers who fought in the war. You could enter a family member's name if they fought in the war; their name would appear, and you could put a poppy next to their name.

It's important to remember the ANZACS because they fought for our peace, and we should always remember that, or they will be forgotten, and the peace they fought for will be for nothing. This makes me sad that they had to sacrifice their lives, but happy we now have peace.

By Bridget 

One amazingly interesting thing about the Commemoration Ceremony was the beautiful World War 2 sculpture outside the shrine that really caught my eye because it showed mateship. At the top of the monument are soldiers carrying their mate to safety. When we visited the shrine, the Shrine of Remembrance looked magnificent, and it stands very proud in remembrance of those who fought for our lives. I also observed the Air Force cadets marching very sombrely. We were very respectful during the ceremony and listened to the speeches. The students whom I had to speak to at the ceremony were incredible, they must have practised and practised and practised to be able to deliver their speeches so well. But there was one student speaker in particular, her name was Shanen, and she was in Year 10. Shanen talked about Mateship. She mentioned all of her close mates who helped her through lots to highlight her points. We went to the gallery after the ceremony. We had a tour guide, John, who knew every little detail about the Air Force and the Army, and World War 1 & 2. It was so interesting!

By Charlotte 

You could hear the cadets' boots marching up and down through the 3,000 students in a perfectly synced form. I was amazed at how much practice that would have taken them and the fact that they would have been specially chosen for the event, to be in the Guard of Honour. We also had a wonderful welcome introduction by Justin Smith, after that, there was the arrival of the Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner. We were also joined by a lovely band and choir.

 After the ceremony, we went to explore the shrine. We had a great guide named John who had a lot of knowledge. I had learnt so much, even a few great stories. One about a dog called Sabi. She was a military dog used to find mines, but one day she got frightened by a loud explosion and ran away, but was found alive 3 years later. That is why some people wear purple poppies to remember all the animals that have served in war purposes. But after all these stories, I had a favourite that was one about a flag. Japan was attacking, and all the soldiers were lined up along the shore, but they ended up coming through the jungle. So then a man had climbed up and got the flag and hid it, as they knew it would be destroyed. They got it back 3 years later, and it remains in the shrine in perfect condition. We ended up having a wonderful day, especially with a wonderful guide, John!

By Jamie 

As we walked through the entrance of the gardens of the Shrine of Remembrance, we were surprised by the rows and rows of thousands of students. We sat down and waited about 20 minutes for the ceremony to start. As it started, there was Melbourne High School in the background with bagpipes and big drums for music while the Guard of Honour cadets marched into the garden. 

We then did the welcome to country and waited for the arrival of the Governor of Victoria. It was really interesting seeing how orderly and synchronised the cadets were while marching in. We then addressed all the guests and listened to them give a speech. After the speeches were done, we sang Waltzing Matilda and watched as the Catafalque party walked around. After that, all the schools laid their wreaths with the bagpipes in the background. We then read The Ode, listened to the Last Post, and had a minute of silence.

One of the students read out “In Flanders Field”, and then they had the torch ceremony where they passed around a torch. We finished with the national anthem and the Governor's departure.

After the ceremony, we still needed a tour of the Shrine of Remembrance. We walked inside and were astonished by all the things they had here, it was basically a museum. Our tour guide first took us to the story about the Great Escape and the watch that was handed down to the escaped prisoner's family. The tour guide then told us the story about the flag that was hidden away from the Japanese for three years with hundreds of signatures. After that, we learned about the landmines that are only meant to injure people and not kill them. The tour guide then handed us over to another tour guide who told us about Sabi, who was a dog that sniffed out landmines, and how she ran away but came back a year later. It was a really fun excursion and was really interesting to see how life would’ve been in the war. It was also cool to see the ceremony and all the people. I really liked it and learnt a lot.

By Spencer 

Clop clop, the sound of the soldiers marching through the ceremony was heard. On the 28th of April, the Grade Fives and Sixes went to the Shrine of Remembrance in the city. There were rows of white chairs where we sat down and waited for the ceremony to start. Once it had started, everyone went quiet as the Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Gerdiner, gave speeches about the ANZACS who sacrificed themselves so that we could live. There was a Guard of Honour there, and it was very solemn and sombre. There was a student playing the bagpipes, and he played them for 20 minutes. During that 20 minutes, students from the different schools went up and placed wreaths near a fire (note there were 3000 students).

After the ceremony was finished, our guide, John, took us into the Shrine of Remembrance. There were many artefacts, such as a watch from World War 2. He told us that the watch belonged to an imprisoned soldier who knew his name was on the back of it and that the German guards would know who he was if they found him with it. So he gave it to a friend and told him to give it to his family if he survived the war, and he spent a whole 2 years searching until he found the family of his friend. He gave it to them, and they were very joyful to get the watch back. 

Another artefact was the Union Jack flag, and we were told that it had been hidden from the Japanese for 3 years, as they had taken over and they knew their flag was going to be ripped to shreds, so they hid it and only took it out during funerals. 

And that was not all, there was also a screen that went through all the soldiers' names from WW1 and 2 from A to Z and takes 3 MONTHS (!) to get through all the names. There was a pad that you could put the name of a relative who was in the war, and you could put a poppy next to their name on the screen. 

For me, this whole thing made me feel very respectful of the ANZACS’ sacrifice.

By Nicholas

“We are Australian!” Solemn, synchronised music filled the air with a sense of remembrance for the soldiers who fought and lost their lives in war. On Monday, the 28th of April, we visited the Shrine of Remembrance for the 93rd Annual ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony for Students. 3,000 students visited this special ceremony to remember the lives of thousands of Australian soldiers. We were greeted with mini Australian flags paired with fresh rosemary. As we took our seats, soldiers marched in perfect unison past us. The chatter stopped abruptly as the Master of Ceremonies, Justin Smith, began the ceremony with a welcome and an introduction. Finishing his witty welcome speech, the Traditional Owner of Bunurong Land led us in the Welcome to Country.

By Benji 

At the ceremony, we learned about mateship. It is all about the friends you have, like there is someone who will be on your side no matter the cost. Or someone who makes you smile no matter what, so the friends you will trust with your life. Boom! At the shrine, there were deactivated landmines on display. It is like a bomb, but it doesn't kill you. It is supposed to chop off a limb so more and more people will come to help - it's a trap. There is an English flag that was hidden from the Japanese for three years. You think it would be dirty, being hidden under trees or buried in holes, but it wasn't. An Australian man saw this flag in an auction, got it for $100,000 and donated it.