August 2014 marked 100 years since the commencement of the First World War. The ANZAC Centenary will be commemorated locally, nationally and internationally. This page provides teachers and students with information and links to a range of websites and projects that provide opportunities to learn more about, and become involved in, the ANZAC Centenary.
Events
ANZAC Centenary
Across the globe, the
ANZAC Centenary (2014 – 2018) will be marked by millions of people, in places of special importance and in ways personally meaningful to them.
In Victoria, local communities will have the opportunity to plan their own commemorations and to share in the stories of those who served and those who supported the war effort on the homefront.
These stories will reconnect Victorians to the ANZAC legacy and create a lasting testimonial that will educate and inspire future generations.
The ANZAC Centenary will enrich and deepen our understanding of the commitment and sacrifice made by Australian servicemen and women during the First World War and by those who continue to serve in uniform around the world.
Projects
Gallipoli Oaks Project
As part of its commitment to commemorate and preserve our environmental heritage, the National Trust of Australia (Vic), has identified the Gallipoli oak tree (Quercus coccifera subsp.
calliprinos) as a symbolic link between the Centenary of ANZAC, the people of Turkey and the primary school children of Victoria. To bring this link to life the Trust is propagating up to 2000 juvenile Gallipoli oaks to be planted in Victorian primary school grounds during remembrance ceremonies from 2015 to 2018.
The
project includes education resources that communicate the story of the Gallipoli oaks during the First World War, the process of propagation and convey our enduring relationship with the people of Turkey.
ANZAC Commemorative Naming Project
During the ANZAC centenary period (2014–18), the Victorian Government is conducting a commemorative naming project in partnership with naming authorities, primarily councils.
The
project is an opportunity for Victorians to acknowledge the wartime service and sacrifice of their local municipality's military service people, or locals who supported Australia's military cause.
Victorians are being asked to research these people from their municipalities and provide proposals to their local councils. Councils will then decide which name proposals should be used to name or rename roads, geographical features or localities.
There will also be the opportunity to:
- record the history behind the names in Victoria's register of geographic names, VICNAMES
- record in VICNAMES the history of existing roads, features or localities already named in honour of service people.
The WW1 Centenary Poppy Tile Project
Victorians who died from causes associated with battle during war are commemorated by the War Graves Commission.
However, those who returned and then lived out their lives in the community, and are buried in our cemeteries, are not recognised unless their family has recorded this fact in their inscription.
In recognition of this, and to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, the Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT), in conjunction with the Returned Services League of Australia (RSL Victorian Branch), has produced a special poppy tile that can be affixed to headstones and cremation niches to indicate that someone served their country during war.
For more information, see
The WWI Centenary Project.
100 Years of ANZAC – The spirit lives 2014 - 2018
The Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ website for the commemoration of the centenary of ANZAC contains information on the ANZAC Centenary Program. This program encompasses all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations in which Australians have been involved.
The Program aims to give all Australians the opportunity to honour the service and sacrifice of all those who have worn our nation’s uniform, including the more than 102,000 who have made the supreme sacrifice.
It also aims to encourage all Australians to reflect upon and learn more about Australia’s military history, its costs and its impacts on our nation.
For more information including grants, news and The Program 2014 – 2018, see
ANZAC Centenary.
Resources
The Shrine of Remembrance - Melbourne
416,809 Australians enlisted to serve in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). This accounted for 38.7% of the Australian male population aged between 18 and 44. In Victoria 114,000 enlisted, 89,000 served overseas and 19,000 did not return home.
The Shrine of Remembrance will commemorate the Centenary of ANZAC through a program of ceremonies, exhibitions, education programs for school students and public talks and events. The centrepiece of the Shrine's Centenary is the Galleries of Remembrance redevelopment.
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial will be commemorating the centenary of the First World War through a major redevelopment of its First World War galleries and a variety of new public programs and events.
ANZAC Voices is a temporary First World War exhibition which follows the stories and lives of several soldiers throughout the First World War, told through their diaries, belongings, and letters.
Commemorative Crosses project – plans to draw on the commemorative experiences of school children visiting the Memorial by capturing, in the students’ own words, their individual reflections on those Australians who have sacrificed their lives in war and other conflicts. These thoughts will take the form of short messages on small wooden crosses, which the Memorial will arrange to be laid throughout the Centenary period on war graves and memorials where Australian servicemen and women are buried in countries such as Turkey, France, Belgium, Malaysia, Singapore, Greece, South Africa and the Middle East.
Roll of Honour Soundscapes – primary school students between the ages of 10 and 12, selected from across Australia, will be invited to record the name and age of one of the 62,000 Australians who died during the First World War. These voice recordings will be played in the First World War section of the Cloisters in the Commemorative Area.
Australian War Memorial – this website contains further information on projects including other Australian War Memorial projects such as ANZAC Connections and the Travelling Exhibition.
FUSE teacher resources
FUSE is an interactive portal, repository, search engine and workspace, developed by the Department as a way of sharing quality educational digital content and resources.
ANZAC and First World War related resources can be found by using the
advanced search feature.
A collection of websites and resources relating to the First World War and ANZAC Day is available as a package in FUSE:
ANZAC resources for teachers.