29 May 2012
Senior students and staff have recently returned to school following a magical twenty three day tour of Europe. Despite being quite cool for much of the trip a fantastic if tiring time with many highlights was had by all. The tour began in Rome and included visits to the Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, Forum and Colosseum as well as relaxed lazy long lunches in various piazzas. After leaving Rome we traveled to the Naples region and explored the buried Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as taking the time to climb to the top of Mt Vesuvius. A few relaxing days followed in Venice and then it was on to Austria and in particular the beautiful city of Salzberg, birthplace of Mozart and a stones throw from the mountain retreat of Adolf Hitler and other high ranking members of the Nazi state. Following our guided tours of the vast underground bunker systems there we moved on to Munich and Nuremberg, cities that were instrumental in the development and promotion of the National Socialist regime. A day trip to the original concentration camp Dachau was particularly moving as was the tour of the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, venue for the post war trial of leading Nazis. An exciting if somewhat cramped overnight train trip south preceded a three day tour of the battlefields of the western front. Posieres, Villers Brettoneux, Le Hamel, Thiepval and Passchendaele were sober reminders of the cost Australians have borne in order to enjoy the opportunities and way of life we have today. Students laid wreaths during the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres and participated in a Platoon experience day with everyone, teachers included, fitted out as soldiers of the 40th Battalion of the Third Australian Division and then following their path into battle on the 4th of October 1917. The tour wound up with a final five days in Paris. Climbing the Eiffel Tower ( the lift was broken) and the Arc de Triomphe, admiring the masterpieces in the Louvre, strolling along the banks of the Seine, taking in the beauty of Notre Dame and Sacre Cour Cathedrals, shopping in Monmartre and the Galleries Laffayette and of course enjoying a fabulous evening at the Moulin Rouge and a final night carousel ride by the light of the Eiffel Tower have provided incredible moments for everyone to enjoy and relive for many years to come.