Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I would like to acknowledge an exceptional young person from our electorate, Sarah Moad. Sarah is a former Laurimar Primary School student who was one of the winners of the 2015 Northern District National Servicemen's Association of Australia school scholarship award, set up as part of the Centenary of Anzac commemorations. Thirty-two primary schools across Victoria answered the call to participate in this competition, and from that two recipients were chosen. It is easy to see why Sarah's poem, entitled 'A story of the fallen', rose to the top of the competition. Sarah was only 11 years old when she wrote her poem, and yet her empathy and ability to bring the reader into the emotional mindset of soldiers at Lone Pine who knew they would never make it home, and her story of a lone pine itself, shows an understanding well beyond her years. Sarah's amazing ability to touch us all with her remembrance story reminds us of the importance of reflecting on history and not allowing ourselves to forget the extreme sacrifice that our service men and women have made for our democracy and safety.

'A story of the fallen' is now immortalised in a bronze plaque as part of the memorial at the Seymour Soldiers' Memorial Hospital. I had the honour of meeting Sarah and her family at the unveiling of the new World War I memorial at the hospital on Remembrance Day, where Sarah had the privilege of unveiling the plaque. I commend Sarah for her efforts, and thank Noel Blake from the Northern Districts NSAA for organising this thought-provoking competition. I seek leave to table 'A story of the fallen', the poem by Sarah Moad.

Leave granted.

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