This website contains various resources for use by students, teachers and the public. This whole project arose from the desire to make readily available the data on the 165 Anzacs to enable further research.

One of the aims of this website is to provide additional resources linked to the research associated with the book Telling Part of the Story of 165 Northern Tasmanian World War I ANZACs. This book investigated 165 ANZAC service men named on the War Memorial at Holy Trinity Church, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. The resources in this section have a focus on the context associated with  First World War and are designed mainly for schools and teachers to use in different areas of the Australian curriculum. The resources also have a community application.

Information collected about the 165 ANZACs has been converted into data files that can be used by schools as part of the Australian Mathematics and History curriculums. There are also some suggested activities for teachers to use with their classes. The files are in two forms: An Excel file (165 ANZACs) containing the raw data from the various sources used in the research. A second Excel spreadsheet (165 ANZACs modified) contains the same data with some modifications added to make it easier to use the files in the classroom. The third file is a Tinkerplots file (165ANZACs.tp) which is the modified Excel file converted into a form that Tinkerplots can use. Tinkerplots (www.tinkerplots.com) is a data exploration and visualisation tool that students from middle primary grades upwards can use to find answers to questions that are of interest to themselves. Further information is available in the Notes for Teachers.

A brief biography of each of the 165 ANZAC servicemen named on the War Memorial at Holy Trinity Church, Launceston, Tasmania, is provided. This information notes the serviceman’s war record and refers to his life before and after World War 1, where information was available. Many hours were spent identifying records and extracting information from the digitised collection in the Canberra War memorial and the National Archives of Australia and elsewhere. There are many important stories located within this set of names. A number of the servicemen were at Gallipoli and other significant locations during the four years of World War 1. Some were killed and many were wounded. Some received awards for bravery such as the Military Medal. Importantly these records tell part of the human story of these 165 servicemen and how they were affected by the war.

Six Little Known Digger’s Poems

Rev. Ken Box’s great uncle was an ANZAC of World War 1 who was provided with a book of poems written by returning and returned soldiers. These six little known poems are reproduced in this book and represent a “window” into the thinking, emotions, and feelings of the returning ANZACs.

Ken Box notes this little book was found in an old tin trunk of his great uncle’s that was left in his machinery shed after his aunt died.

There are two videos. One relates to a church Remembrance Service and the playing of the last post. The second video involves young people involved with the Army, Navy and Air Force Cadets speaking about why they were involved with cadets and what they gained from this this involvement. Both of these videos can be used as starters for discussion.

THE 165 ANZAC PROJECT

The Telling Part of the Story of Northern Tasmanian WWI ANZACs book and website project involved researching the 165 ANZAC servicemen named on the War Memorial at Holy Trinity Church, Launceston. This involved searching each Serviceman’s war record and refers to his life before and after World War 1. Many hours were spent identifying records and extracting information from the digitised collection in the National Archives of Australia and elsewhere.

The following two pieces of text relate to remembering World War 1. They take different perspectives on war and although they have similar themes some of the ideas and emotions expressed in the verses are very different.