Year 9 History Excursion

On Wednesday the 22nd of May, Year 9’s history classes went on an excursion in the city. The purpose of this trip was for us to learn about World War I and find primary sources for our assignments.

We were offered the opportunity to explore and discover the qualities attributed to the ANZACs, as well as to understand the impact that the war had caused – not only on the soldiers, but also on their families and communities on personal levels.

We met at the ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park before entering the museum where we were treated to an excellent and powerful performance of Morris Gleitzman’s Loyal Creatures. This was a twenty minute monologue from the perspective of a fictitious young soldier in the war, based on factual events. It was extremely moving, and challenged our views of right and wrong. Should he have saved the man? Should he have shot his horse? Everyone had a different opinion.
After this, we took a tour around the museum and the exhibits, which included a real uniform of a soldier and other real-life artefacts. The tour guide helpfully explained the symbolism embedded into the memorial, and told us touching stories about acts of heroism and friendship. We then attended a workshop and discussed the ANZAC spirit and the qualities that we can be proud about soldiers – courage, endurance and sacrifice.

After lunch in Hyde Park we headed to the State Library, via the Martin Place Cenotaph.

We visited an exhibit at the library, Quick March, which was all about the children of the Great War. After viewing a variety of primary sources, we started to understand the perceptions of war that different people held. Letters from children to relatives overseas allowed us to sympathise with the situation and the experience of growing up while missing an adult figure or older sibling. The oil paintings and pictures we were also shown all contained their own stories, depicting war and the circumstances induced by war in different manners. Although many war generals were depicted as powerful, majestic and imposing, many of them were experiencing trauma, depression, and grief internally.

One of the most exciting parts of the excursion was when we had the chance to look at real artefacts from the Great War, and gather information about them. They had been stored under the owner’s bed, and we were ‘charged’ with the task of finding that owner’s name among those artefacts. Attention to detail, we learnt, was very important in these investigations. We found the name printed on the side of the war medallions and written on the back of a postcard.

This excursion was full of information, and increased our understanding of World War II. It was a fun and educational experience and we all had a great time.

Pingting Ooi, Tilly Kearnes and Cadence Ing
Year 9