Councillor joins the Anzac trek

By Sarah Schwager
CASEY councillor Wayne Smith set off on a trip through South-East Asia with 10 Victorian students last week to coincide with Anzac Day.
Cr Smith was one of two Victorian teachers to be appointed to travel to significant war sites in Singapore, Vietnam and Japan with the winners of the State Government’s Spirit of Anzac Schools Competition prize.
The 10 year 10 students from around Victoria were chosen out of 300 applicants, each having a specific interest in Australia’s war history.
Cr Smith, who teaches at Eumemmerring College’s Fountain Gate campus, was notified last November that he had been chosen and has been involved in the program since then, including meeting with the students three or four times.
Also joining the group was Melbourne Girls Secondary College teacher Sheryl Kerwick, Education Minister Jacinta Allan, and RSL and Department of Veteran Affairs representatives.
“I feel very honoured and privileged to be part of it,” Cr Smith said.
The group left last Friday to meet Premier Steve Bracks in Singapore on Saturday, and will travel to Tokyo on Anzac Day.
Cr Smith said the trip was about looking at war from the Australian perspective.
He said as it was a government-funded trip, the group would have access to things that they would not normally get to see.
Destinations for the Spirit of Anzac winners change every second year. Last year went to France, England and Belgium.