- Published:
- Friday 24 April 2015
Almost 100 Victorian students and teachers representing their state on the 2015 Anzac Day Dawn Service Tour will mark the Centenary Anniversary of the Gallipoli landings in a commemorative service at Lone Pine.
The travelling party will join descendants of those who served at Gallipoli, World War I widows and thousands of Australians successful in the national ballot to attend the Dawn Service.
The students all play important roles in their communities across Victoria, and many are descendants of diggers themselves.
The study tour includes visiting Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia museum and the ancient Yerebatan Cistern, before a tour of the Gallipoli Peninsula and attending the Lone Pine service.
Lone Pine is forever etched in Australia’s history. One hundred years on, it will set the scene for the commemoration of the 50,000 Australians who served at Gallipoli – and the nearly 9000 who died.
The Battle of Lone Pine is considered the fiercest fighting Australians experienced in the eight-month Gallipoli campaign. Australia lost 2000 men in just four days. Seven Australians were later awarded the Victoria Cross for their bravery.
The 2015 Anzac Day Dawn Service Tour is just one of the many Anzac Centenary initiatives the Andrews Labor Government is proud to support, as Victorians prepare to commemorate 100 years since the Gallipoli landings.
It is the second touring group the Labor Government has sent to Gallipoli and the Western Front, after the Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize visit earlier this month.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Veterans, John Eren
“The students and teachers representing Victoria at Lone Pine are being given the opportunity to remember our servicemen and women, and learn from their courage and sacrifice.”
“Anzac Day is a day when all Australians remember the sacrifices of those who have fought for our country, and to pay our respects to those they left behind – families, partners and children.”