Year 9 students at Eden Marine High School were fortunate to participate in an entertaining incursion from visiting World War 1 Living History this week.
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Students had the opportunity to handle artefacts and weapons, as presenter Shane Blackman engaged students in the display and discussion workshop, providing great insight in to the experiences of soldiers in the frontline trenches of France and Belgium between 1916 and 1918.
Mel Sandefur, HSIE subject coordinator at Eden Marine High School - said the school was very fortunate to get the WW1 Living History crew to donate an afternoon after winning a prize on their Facebook page.
"We got chatting about how we were going after the fires and Shane Blackman decided to come down to us free of charge to run the incursion for our Year 9 students," she said.
"This is a massive deal as our school has never been able to afford a learning opportunity like this," Ms Sandefur said.
WW1 Living History works to keep the memory of those who were caught up in the Great War 1914-1918.
With a focus on Australians in the trenches of Gallipoli and the Western Front, Mr Blackman's storytelling involved often graphic descriptions of the daily lives of the Australian military at that time.
The harsh and testing circumstances everyday Australians endured during the war was well communicated via the interactive session, allowing a deeper understanding for the students.
"This incursion augmented the Australians at War unit studied in Year 9 History and students found the presentation highly entertaining, with many asking great questions and some even staying behind after school to engage more with the authentic WW1 material," Ms Sandefur said.
Based on the Central Coast, Mr Blackman travels throughout the state to present the displays and said he loved sharing the soldiers diaries, memoirs and letters home, which have a bit of life to them.
Mr Blackman said his interest in WW1 and connection to what he teaches comes from his own family history and his research into it.
"When I learned the Eden students and community had been fire and flood affected, and with COVID happening perhaps felt they had been forgotten," Mr Blackman said.
"I wanted to do something for the community, and it was fantastic, an awesome day, they were a great bunch of kids," Mr Blackman said.
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Leah Szanto
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
