Anzac essay earns Katanning’s Harry Forman a place on Premier’s Anzac Student Tour

An essay written by Katanning Senior High School’s Harry Forman earned the Year 11 student a place on the 2023 Premier’s Anzac Student Tour in April which saw him travel to Sydney and New Zealand on a journey of history and reflection.

From a pool of about 50 WA students that submitted essays, 10 were selected for the tour.

“I did my essay on the Volunteer Defence Corps,” Harry said.

“I found out Katanning had Volunteer Defence Corps, and Gnowangerup and Kojonup, I managed to find old documents — it was the most effort I’ve put into an assignment for a while and it worked so I might do it a bit more often.”

After being selected, Harry travelled to Perth for a ceremony and a pre-tour which saw him visit Leighton Battery Tunnels, Campbell Barracks, Kings Park and Anzac Park.

Six weeks later Harry flew to Sydney and then on to New Zealand for the Anzac Day dawn wervice.

“We went to Sydney first and saw a whole heap of things there, it was my first time out of the State and my first time out of the country,” Harry said.

“After Sydney, we flew to New Zealand and went to Waiheke Island where we saw the Stony Batter Tunnels, then we travelled north on a cultural tour and on Anzac Day we went to the New Zealand dawn wervice.”

The Australian students attended the service at the Auckland History Museum which drew about 10,000 people.

“There were tonnes of people,” he said.

“A Hercules troop carrier flew overhead, the dawn service was the point of the trip and it was amazing.”

Lisa Forman said that she was very proud of her son’s achievement.

“The school encourages kids locally to enter competitions like this and it’s a great opportunity, especially when you come from a small place,” she said.

“Harry always puts in the effort.”

One of the highlights of the trip for Harry was his visit to the secretly constructed Stoney Batter Tunnels on Waiheke.

“The tunnels were finished pretty much as the war ended,” he said.

“They were hand dug by men over three years and the builders couldn’t have contact with anyone outside of the site, there was no going home at the end of the day — and the concrete is in perfect condition.”