The Hon Julia Gillard MP
16 March, 2009
Media release
Young Simpson Prize Winners Announced
Joint Media Release with The Hon. Alan Griffin MP, Member for Bruce
The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard has presented the winners and runners-up of the 2009 Simpson Prize with their prizes at a ceremony in Canberra today.
Minister Gillard and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin congratulates all of today’s award recipients who were selected from each State and Territory, as well as the many students that submitted an entry.
The entries were a powerful reminder of this country’s enduring Anzac spirit, and how in times of trouble, crisis or disaster, Australians pull together and can demonstrate enormous courage, compassion and resilience.
This year, over 580 Year 9 and 10 students submitted an essay or audio-visual presentation which looked at why Australians continue to commemorate the events of World War I given its devastating impact at home and abroad.
Eight talented young students will attend commemorative ANZAC Day services at Gallipoli as part of their award.
The Simpson Prize winners and runners-up each received a medallion to celebrate their achievements and took part in a special two-day Canberra study program, including visits to Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial and the National Museum of Australia.
This popular national competition, now in its eleventh-year, honours John Simpson Kirkpatrick – ‘the man with the donkey’, famous for his bravery under fire while rescuing soldiers at Gallipoli in 1915. The Government provided funding of $179 750 for the 2009 Simpson Prize.
All Australian students should have the opportunity to study history because history is not just a study of the past; it helps us understand the present.
The Rudd Government is working cooperatively with the States and Territories through to implement a rigorous, content based national history curriculum for all Australian students from Kindergarten to Year 12.
WINNERS:
|
New South Wales |
Sydney Girls’ High School, Surry Hills |
Lauren Tang |
|
Victoria |
Camberwell Girls’ Grammar School, Canterbury |
Eleanor Lourey |
|
Queensland |
Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School, East Ipswich |
Megan Provatt |
|
Western Australia |
Shenton College, Shenton Park |
Nicholas Dyer |
|
South Australia |
Wilderness School, Medindie |
Johanna Stott-Williams |
|
Tasmania |
The Friends’ School, North Hobart |
Madeleine Foote |
|
Northern Territory |
Darwin High School, Darwin |
Erin Moriarty |
RUNNERS-UP:
|
New South Wales |
Woolooware High School, Woolooware |
Marcus Harris |
|
Victoria |
Beechworth Secondary College, Beechworth |
Tiarna Borleis |
|
Queensland |
St Augustine’s College, Cairns |
Daniel d’Hotman |
|
Western Australia |
Shenton College, Shenton Park |
Christine Hartley |
|
South Australia |
Prince Alfred College, Kent Town |
Duncan Soang |
|
Tasmania |
St Michael’s Collegiate, Hobart |
Emily Gayton |
|
Northern Territory |
Darwin High School, Darwin |
Samuel van den Niewenhof |
TEACHER CHAPERONES:
|
Victoria |
Marian College, Ararat |
Sharon Mann |
Media Contact:
Deputy Prime Minister's Press Office: 02 6277 7758
DEEWR Media: media@deewr.gov.au
Non-media queries: 1300 363 079