Students to honour Anzac legacy with annual tour ending in Albany for Mt Clarence dawn service

The 2021 Premier’s Anzac Student Tour is set to end in Albany, with the group commemorating Anzac Day with a dawn service on Mt Clarence.

The 18th annual Anzac tour will see 14 students from 12 secondary schools in WA travel around the State in commemoration of our military legacy.

The group will travel to Albany, Kununurra, Broome and Rottnest Island from April 16-26, focusing on WA’s Anzac heritage, nation-building between the wars, and the defence of the home front during World War II.

The students will commemorate Anzac Day on the last leg of the tour by attending the dawn service at the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial on Mt Clarence in Albany.

The group will spend the first nine days of the 10-day tour visiting important historical sites, including the flying boat wrecks in Broome and the Oliver Hill battery and tunnels on Rottnest.

As this year’s overseas tour, which usually involves travel to countries such as the UK, Belgium and France, was not able to go ahead because of COVID-19, those students will be combined with students selected for the 2021 tour.

The Premier’s Anzac Student Tour is an annual competition open to all WA students in Years 8-11 who are selected following a written submission and interview process.

Following the 2021 tour, 216 students will have travelled on the tour.

Education and training minister Sue Ellery said the tour was an important event for students to acknowledge sacrifices made by Australians.

“I’m pleased that students selected for this year’s tour, which wasn’t able to go ahead, will be able to share the experience with their peers in next year’s tour,” she said.

“I know these 14 students, as many have before them, will have life-changing experiences that will broaden their understanding of WA’s military history.”