Gallipoli-bound: James McNeill and Jack Ball.
Camera IconGallipoli-bound: James McNeill and Jack Ball. Credit: Supplied/Emma Goodwin

Teacher and student from Mindarie Senior College join Premier’s Anzac Student Tour

Staff ReporterNorth Coast Times

Modern history teacher James McNeill and Year 11 student Jack Ball and 30 other participants will travel with Premier Colin Barnett to Turkey for Anzac Day next year.

The 10-day tour will include the April 25 dawn service at Gallipoli, which will see 8000 Australians and 2000 New Zealanders congregate there.

Jack said it would be his first trip overseas and he was surprised and pleased to be selected.

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‘I thought it was a really good opportunity for myself to build some confidence,’ he said. ‘My grandfather did a bit of peace-keeping in Germany.’

The Quinns Rocks resident said the 1000-word essay he entered was about the Kokoda Trail and he found it interesting learning about the legacy of Australian troops.

Jack said he was most looking forward to visiting Gallipoli and the peninsula, and seeing the battlefields.

Mr McNeill said he applied to be one of the teachers accompanying the tour for the first time this year, and was looking forward to learning more.

‘It would be an amazing thing to experience,’ he said. ‘Even as a teacher, you are kind of still a student.’

Mr McNeill said he expected it to be ‘overwhelming’ but a good opportunity for students to hear from both sides of the conflict.

‘We will be hearing speakers from the Turkish perspective as well,’ he said. Naming the 32 participants on October 10, Mr Barnett said it was important to remember the sacrifices made in World War I.

Education Minister Peter Collier said they wanted younger generations to learn more about Australia’s history and share what they learnt with their school communities.