Monday saw our annual Anzac Remembrance services take place for over seven hundred Primary and nine hundred Secondary students and staff.
This year’s ANZAC day remembrance service had a focus on the contribution Australian women have made to our military campaigns past and present. There is a long heritage of women who have served in Australia’s military, even before Federation in 1901. Several re-enactments throughout the service showcased to the audience the various ways Australian women supported and stood alongside Australian soldiers in the first and second world wars.
The letter of a wartime mother allowed the audience to reflect on the countless personal losses women have suffered as a result of sons, brothers, husbands and fathers either not returning home from war, or having to live with the ongoing physical and psychological wounds from their service.
Students were reminded of the conditions faced by the 2,300 nurses who in World War One endured relentlessly long shifts in the most extreme and harsh conditions to care for the wounded. The experiences of Major Alice-Ross King (1887 – 1968), were highlighted in several of her diary entries written between 1915-1917. Major Alice Ross-King was one of seven nurses from Australia who were awarded the Military Medal, for courage and dedication to duty while under fire.
Australian women have demonstrated a remarkable ability to overcome adversity and to make significant contributions to the military effort. The audience was reminded of Mueller’s own female graduates who over the years have been accepted into the Australian Defense Force in various fields.
ANZAC day is always significant. We recognise and remember the efforts and sacrifices of those who have gone before us, of those who have and continue to serve in restoring freedom and maintaining peace here in Australia. The day has added significance here at Mueller because of one fundamental truth we believe. We also bring an offering of praise and thanks to him who has granted us our freedom through His son Jesus, and the sacrifice He made at Calvary.
1 Corinthians 15 reads: O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. We praise God for the freedom we now have in Him thanks to Christ Jesus death on the cross, and resurrection.
Lest we forget.
