Premier's ANZAC Memorial Scholarship

Tiana returns 

The Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship  (PAMS) gives high school students the opportunity to travel on an international study tour to develop their knowledge and understanding of the history of Australians at war.In 2019 the Scholarship funded a study tour for 20 students to travel to Germany, France and Belgium during September and October. Students visited the battlefields where Australians fought to learn about the causes of the First and Second World Wars, and to commemorate their service.

by Tiana Wasif, Year 12 (2020)

This year I have been incredibly fortunate to have had the amazing opportunity to represent Cecil Hills High School and NSW as a candidate of the 2019 Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship, where I got to travel on a two-week study tour to Europe during the September-October break. The scholarship was funded by the NSW Government and the Office of Veteran Affairs which was offered to students in Years 10 and 11 who had an interest and passion for history.  The process prior to being selected included designing a project and partaking in an interview in front of a panel.  For my project, I designed a blog on a website which was based on the role and contributions women had in both wars and the impact that it created.

The tour began in Germany, then Belgium and lastly in France. We visited multiple battlefield sites where Australians fought as well visiting significant historic sites, museums and memorials throughout the three countries. Before the trip, each student was given the name of an Australian WWI soldier to research. The purpose of the task was to give us a chance to connect with a soldier and see them as more than a statistic.   I was asked to to present my findings at Hill 60 in Belgium after researching Oliver Holmes Woodward, who detonated the mines beneath the German lines in 1917.

In Germany, we visited the Dachau concentration camp, where it initially housed political prisoners, however, it eventually evolved into a death camp where countless of Jews died from malnutrition, disease and overwork; some were executed.

We continued our journey through multiple battlefields and memorials in Nuremberg and visited the Jewish Museum in Berlin. We then headed to Belgium where we travelled to the Western Front, visiting significant battlefields and memorials, including the Polygon Wood Cemetery.  We also took part in commemoration events in the town of Ypres in Belgium where we paid our respects to the 38,000 Australian soldiers who lost their lives there.

Our final stop was France where we got to walk on the shores of Dunkirk and Gold Beach in Normandy, and of course I got to finally see the Eiffel Tower in Paris and eat a freshly baked croissant! What better way to end the trip! The purpose of the tour was to learn about the causes of the First and Second World Wars, and to commemorate the service of Australian men and women in these conflicts.  It was a privilege to experience the stories that defined the world we live in today.

A couple of weeks upon my return to Australia I was contacted by a PAMS representative yet again, lucky enough to have been selected to represent my school, PAMS and NSW at the Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney on November 11.  Myself and another scholar were asked to recite the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ and lay a wreath in front of the Prime Minister, government officials and a huge crowd:

“Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders Fields"

These experiences have been such a privilege and a great honour. The PAMS study tour and Remembrance Day Service were both incredible opportunities for me to expand on my personal knowledge and what I have learnt at school.  It is one thing from reading about the battles and wars of the past, to actually be standing on the same battlefields as our soldiers once did.

Being a part of this was certainly an opportunity of a lifetime and an experience that I will cherish in my heart forever.