During Semester 1 our Year 9 History students have been working on their World War I projects. They have to research a topic of their choice to do with Australia’s role in World War I, and then represent their knowledge using their creativity. Below is just some of the work that we have received so far. We congratulate the students for their work.

Rourke Ciccoria, 9B

Gallipoli at Sunset

Rourke has used Minecraft to create a view over Anzac Cove, looking down on the navy and hospital ships. This is the view that Australia’s youngest ANZAC, James Martin, would have had before he died at Gallipoli at the age of thirteen.

Max Fitzgerald, 9B

The Trenches of the Somme

Max has used a graphic design program called Blender to develop a 3D digital image of the trenches of The Somme. The Somme was one of the deadliest locations of World War I.

Ava Nicholls, 9B

The Bag Piper

Ava painted a Scottish piper in the trenches during World War I to reflect her heritage. Using a simple colour palette, she has created a provocative image of sole bag-piper to illustrate the isolation soldiers often felt. Bag pipes are a traditional part of Australian commemorative services for ANZAC Day because of the number of Scottish heritage people who served.

Katelyn Emmanuel, 9G

The Nurses at Lemnos

Katelyn has painted the ANZAC nurses on the island of Lemnos, Greece. It was from Lemnos that the ANZACS departed for Gallipoli, and the nurses lived in tents for months to treat the injured. The size of the nurses has been used to symbolically portray their role in the war, while the flag conveys the role of Australia’s ally, Greece, in the ANZAC story.

Erika Tran, 9G

The Dug Out

Erika created a diorama of the trenches, compete with duckboards, flags, barbed wire fences, and a dug out which is hidden behind the blue curtain. The colour scheme represents the dull, lifeless conditions on the Western Front where soldiers were forced to sleep wherever they could.

Amara Ly, 9J

Black Sheep

Amara created a poem about Marion Leane Smith, the only Australian First Nation woman to serve in World War I. Marion was born near Sydney, and left Australia to train in Canada. After the war she became a missionary, dedicated to improving the lives of others.

Seb Broadbent, 9J

The Scars of War

World War I caused physical and mental scars that would last generations. Some of the injuries experienced by the soldiers were so horrific that new surgeries had to be invented. This was the start of modern day plastic surgery. Seb has depicted a soldier before and after he has been fitted for a prosthetic mouth.

Melissa Navokska, 9J

Split in Two

Soldiers in World War I were subjected to horrific scenes that often left them mentally paralysed after the war. Post war they struggled to cope with what they had seen, and heard. Alcoholism became a major problem as men did what they could to survive. Melissa’s drawing depicts a soldier who is split in two by his experience in the war. There is the public face, and the private hell.

Matilda Caughey, 9L

Badges of War

Matilda has re-created an embroidered badge that was worn by the nurses during World War I. This particular badge was embroidered onto the sleeves of dresses worn by a group of Australian nurses known as the ‘Bluebirds’. These women were called a ‘gift to France’, where they worked on trains that had been converted to hospitals.

Parkdale Secondary College Newsletter

Pergo Et Perago

Issue 7 · 24 Jun 2022

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