Humanities

Year 9 Shrine of Remembrance Excursion 

On Wednesday the  24th of August, we year 9 students went on an excursion to the Shrine of Remembrance. This trip helped us to learn more about the significance of the place and to find out more information about World War I. 

The day started off with a quick introduction and then we split into two groups. One group was outside of the Shrine whilst the other group was inside the Shrine. The outside activity included visiting and exploring different areas of the Shrine like The Garden of Remembrance and Post-1945 Memorial, Legacy Garden and the forecourt where there were various statues which included learning about what they represent. The inside activities consisted of exploring 3 Areas in the Shrine including the gallery, the crypt and the sanctuary. We explored the gallery including finding information about World War I for our Humanities tasks then we explored the sanctuary which is the heart of the Shrine. The Stone of Remembrance is in the centre of the sanctuary. It is symbolic of a gravestone for those Victorian servicemen and women buried overseas and in unmarked graves. Lastly, we went to the crypt which is directly under the sanctuary. It commemorates the fighting units of the first World War.  Around the walls of the crypt, the unit colour patches and the names of ships lost in war are preserved in bronze. In the centre of the crypt stands a father and son sculpture created to honour the courage and sacrifice of 2 generations of Victorians who served and died in the First and Second World Wars. In 1940 the Shrine Trustees proposed that the crypt would be an appropriate place to lay up the Colours of Disbanded Victorian Regiments still in the shrine.

It was a great and fun experience to step outside of a classroom to learn more about WWI and the Shrine of Remembrance.

                                                                                                  Talya Theophilus 

Year 9 St Rita