By Alistair Gray
Late in the afternoon of April 23, 46 Bribie school students, four teachers and George Franklin, the RSL Sub-Branch Community Link Program coordinator, all piled into a bus for the overnight journey to Canberra to participate in the Anzac Day dawn service. They arrived at Canberra Park 7am the following morning, their digs for the next few days where they were to stay and welcomed a hearty breakfast. For many, this was their first visit to Canberra and a treat waiting to see the many famous Canberra landmarks.
The Community Link program enables local students to represent relatives and those from our community who died on active service during World War I and II and other conflicts. The program provides a beautiful link between the past and young people of today. The evening before the Anzac Day service, the students received a comprehensive briefing and were presented with their blue Community Link jackets and badges, which displayed the veterans' medals. They all learnt about what medals each veteran had and later were able to answer the many questions asked by visitors to the Anzac service. On the day, the students marched directly behind the flag party, the only children's group to march thanks to special permission from the ACT RSL and very much a tribute to those the students were representing.
During their time in Canberra, the students visited the Canberra War Memorial, but sadly, due to renovations, they could only spend about an hour there. However, they were able to visit the poppy wall and the Hall of Memory, along with some key exhibits. They visited Parliament House, old and new, the Australian Institute of Sport, Cockington Green Gardens, the Canberra Zoo, the National Dinosaur Museum, the Mint and the Canberra Aquarium. Travelling home on the bus via Sydney, visiting the Opera House, crossing the harbour on the Manly ferry and then returning to Bribie. The adventure was a fabulous educational experience, with many new lifelong friendships established. A big thanks must go to Busy Fingers, who assisted in funding the program, the Bribie RSL Sub-Branch, the teachers, the parents and George Franklin, the Community Link Coordinator, for organising such a fabulous program.
The Community Link program is nationwide, where families can purchase memorial plaques of Australian soldiers killed in active wartime service.
For more information, email: commlink@bribierslsubbranch.org.au
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