Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack MP signs certificates and book prizes for the 700 plus participants and 16 winners of the annual ANZAC writing competition.
Three Forbes Shire students are among the winners of the annual ANZAC writing competition run by Member for Riverina Michael McCormack.
Hunter Maxwell, Ava Curr and Alana Folau were picked from the more than 700 entries received for the 12th competition.
Hunter (8) is from Bedgerabong Public School and won a book prize in the primary schools category. Ava (15) and Alana (15) are both Red Bend Catholic College students, and won book prizes in the secondary schools and secondary school highly commended categories respectively.
“The entries showcased creative writing prowess as well as honing researching skills as they interpreted the ‘Keeping the ANZAC spirit alive in the Riverina and Central West’ theme,” said Michael.
“I started this writing competition as a way to help younger generations appreciate the service and sacrifice of our soldiers during a time of great turmoil in the world.
“I am continually impressed at the quality of the writing – from students imagining putting their boots on and fighting in the trenches, to the empathy shown as they write a touching piece about a family left behind – each piece offers something unique which contributes to keeping the ANZAC spirit alive in the Riverina and Central West for generations to come.
“Thank you to every student who submitted an entry this year and also to the many hundreds of students who have entered in the past 11 iterations of the competition.
“My gratitude, also, to the teachers who supported the students – without their support this competition could not take place.”
Every student who submitted an entry will receive a participation certificate, while each of the 16 winning and highly commended entries will be published in a 52-page booklet, which also contains fascinating articles of the extraordinary deeds of ordinary Riverina and Central West men and women who went to war.