Winners of the Mayor’s Anzac Day Writing Competition
Published on 25 April 2024
Ashira Naidu, Mayor of Woollahra Richard Shields and Benjamin Levitt at the Anzac Day ceremony
The winning entries from the Mayor’s Anzac Day Writing Competition were read out at our Anzac Day wreath laying ceremony at the Double Bay Cenotaph today.
“I was very pleased to see such a strong response from local schools on the inaugural Mayor’s Anzac Day Writing Competition,” Mayor of Woollahra Richard Shields said.
“It was such an honour to receive just over 130 entries from primary and secondary school students who wrote about the importance of Anzac Day, from such a diverse range of perspectives and many included real family connection stories. It was quite a challenge choosing winners,” he said.
Ashira Naidu from Reddam House won the secondary school category and Benjamin Levitt, also from Reddam House, won the primary school category. You can read their beautiful poetry below.
Radha Kathir from Ascham and Mason Gharebpour from Sydney Grammar School Edgecliff received Highly Commended awards.
“Our Anzacs sacrificed their lives and committed their service to our nation’s peace- we must honour their memories and the legacy of peace they left us,” the Mayor said.
Lest we forget.
WE LISTEN by Ashira Naidu – secondary school winner
The ANZAC life once thought of with great pleasure,
happy as life could treasure.
With tales which spread as the HMT Ascot tread.
A glowing life ahead…
cut short.
Oh! How disastrous it could be!
Yet, they still forced them to their death bed,
saying ‘we need you’.
The innocent step up
oblivious to the fact that
they will never stand on home soil again.
As they step on the boat,
this one-way trip,
bright memories warm their hearts.
The elements that scarred them,
the clear extent of
the brutality of life.
War after war.
Fight after fight.
Death after death.
Clinging on to life
like the memories they had.
The only reason they kept fighting:
To protect.
Yet,
blood spills,
lives are lost.
Poppies grow on the fields
of war,
a sign of nature,
once surrounded by devastation.
Year after year,
we visit the graves
of the soldiers,
wearing rosemary,
holding poppies,
bowing our heads,
paying our respect to those
who sacrificed their lives
for our country,
our freedom.
Respecting the lives of the soldiers,
who risked themselves for us.
The soldiers will always be young as
they remain in their graves,
their memories ingrained in the heads
of those standing at this service.
The tale of Gallipoli
will never be forgotten.
The dead soldiers wait,
waiting for the chance to voice
their difficulties.
And the people listen.
We listen.
What ANZAC Day Means to Me, by Benjamin Levitt – primary school winner
I wake up super early, the sun's barely out,
To remember the heroes we're so thankful about.
Those brave soldier men, who went far away,
Fought hard and fell, so I could laugh and play.
I put on my best clothes, thinking of their fight,
Munch on my Weet-Bix in the soft morning light.
I say a little "Thank you" prayer in my head,
To the ones who can't be here, who fought and bled.
My little sis sees my sad eyes and asks "Why?"
I tell her about the heroes and how some had to die.
"We remember them," I say, "to show that we care,
By waking up early and all being there."
Dad comes and we have a minute of quiet,
My sis still confused, not sure what this is about.
I tell her, "It's for them, for me and for you,
To never forget the things they did do."
In that still minute, though I'm just a kid,
I start to get why remembering is so important.
It's not just the fighting or the big scary war,
But thinking hard about what they fought for.
Later, we watch the parade, I'm feeling so proud,
I think of those heroes and thank them out loud.
Munching a yummy Anzac biscuit, sweet and crisp,
I feel a special connection, my head to my tips.
ANZAC Day isn't just an old tale or a story,
It's a lesson about courage, sacrifice and glory.