Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to talk about Remembrance Day in my constituency and, more importantly, the Anzac Centenary grants that commemorate the centenary of the First World War. A number of specific projects within my electorate which were supported by these grants are quite outstanding. We had an amazing group of Anzac Centenary grant projects in 2015. These include the Anzac Centenary Fine Art Show held in July 2015 and the stunning 1915 Gallipoli 2015 quilt triptych—which has actually been showcased at the Australian War Memorial.

I was very honoured to participate in the festival presentation and dedication ceremony for the 1915 Gallipoli 2015 quilt triptych at the Cranbourne RSL in September this year. It is a brilliant work of art. It has 4,888 small square pieces that commemorate the centenary of the Gallipoli landings from three aspects. It was created by a very talented group of women in the Cranbourne combined patchworkers group. It really is world class. Often we will come to this place and say, 'This is the best thing in Australia,' or whatever—but this really is world-class work that has been done by a group of women in my constituency. It was funny that, after this triptych was formally presented to the RSL, there was almost a bidding war over who would get their hands on it. As I said, it has been displayed at the War Memorial. To all of those women who participated in that project: I am incredibly proud of the work you did. Not only was it an appropriate depiction—exactly what we are looking for so that people in the future are able to understand what it meant to be there serving on that front line at that terrible time in history—but it commemorated those events in just the right way.

I would also like to congratulate Calvin Bell and members of Provenance Artists Inc. for organising the paintings for the Holt Anzac Day Centenary Fine Art Show held, as I said, in July—34 paintings from 24 leading local artists. There was one particular painting exhibited that was noticed by the Turkish Vice Consul, Mr Ersel Ozdemir. He was particularly moved by the Gabriele Jenkins painting, Compassion in Warso moved in fact that we presented it to him and to the Turkish consulate after the event. It now hangs in the Turkish consulate. These were two outstanding projects appropriately commemorating the Centenary of Anzac. I am proud of my constituency for the work they do.