Students receive five different Anzac honours at ceremony
St Patrick’s College History Club students have been presented with awards by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the NSW Premier, Ingleburn RSL and Mounties Group for their work honouring servicemen and women who have lived and worked in the Macarthur region.
Forty-two students, three teachers and 14 service personnel were recognised by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for a project which won the National Anzac Day Schools’ Awards. At lunchtimes and outside school hours, students recorded the stories of local servicemen and women, then built a website to publish their research. They were also awarded the Brigadier Bill Rolfe AO Award for Veteran Involvement for the project.
College Principal, Mrs Mary Leask, congratulated students and staff on their work and thanked the veterans and community groups, particularly the staff at Campbelltown Library, who made the research and publication possible.
“I’d like to acknowledge the students; the respect they have shown for the stories they have discovered and told is palpable,” she said.
“A high thank you to our collaborators…we are delighted to be part of your community.”
“I want to say a special thank you to our veterans. All the stories we heard today highlight the sacrifice that a person makes to say ‘yes’ to being called up for service. I want to say thank you for your preparedness to defend what is right, for your heroism. I’d like to thank you that I don’t have to live with the experiences you do. I have no doubt some of those experiences, for you and your families, are uncomfortable to live with. This small work honours each and every one of you and every person who serves. And it is a testimony to the enduring story that must be told. Lest we forget.”
The College was honoured to have British Deputy Consul-General, Mr Edward Kitt, deliver the keynote address. Mr Kitt spoke of his own late grandfather’s service in WWII, first in his local ambulance service and then as a pilot; his exemplary bravery earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Mr Kitt emphasised the importance of recording historical testimony, as the St Patrick’s College students did with their coccurricular project.
“Veterans represent courage, sacrifice and a sense of duty that transcends generations. Yet, as time passess, we face an urgent challenge: preserving the voices of those who lived through the extraordinary experiences of war and service,” Mr Kitt said.
“Those stories are treasures and, if we fail to capture them, we risk losing them altogether. Recording veteran stories is not just an act of remembrance, it is a responsibility to history. Their accounts offer insights no textbook or documentary can replicate. These are not abstract lessons, they are lived experiences filled with the raw emotions, challenges and triumphs that bring history to life. Recording veteran stories serves as a bridge between generations. It helps younger people understand the sacrifices made to secure the liberties we enjoy today.”
In addition to the awards bestowed by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Year 10 student, Rebecca Murphy, accepted the NSW Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship Certificate for her essay on Australian courage, endurance and sacrifice in times of peace and war, which earned her a place on a study trip to Japan.
History Club students were also recognised for their contribution to 2024 Remembrance Day ceremonies. Mr Patrick O’Grady and Mr John Lees, from the Ingleburn RSL Sub-Branch for Remembrance Day, presented Rebecca Murphy with a plaque in recognition of the moving address she provided at their service. Rev Dr Brian Bailey, President AIF 7th Division Provost Association, and Paul Whitfield, Welfare Officer, Mounties Group, presented the History Club with a gift in recognition of the girls’ involvement in the Mounties service as members of the catafalque party.
The awards ceremony was attended by students and their families, members of the military and dignitaries, including British Deputy Consul-General, Mr Edward Kitt; Federal Member for Macarthur, Dr Mike Freelander; Member for Campbelltown, Mr Greg Warren; and Member for Camden, Mrs Sally Quinnell. Other special guests included the Mayor of Campbelltown, Councillor Darcy Lound; Deputy Secretary, Veteran, Family and Stakeholder Experience, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Ms Alison McLaren; and teacher and past President of the History Teachers Association, Ms Toni Hurley.