Sophie Robertson’s Prestigious ANZAC Adventures

On Saturday 13 April, Sophie Robertson set off on an international adventure as part of the annual Premier’s Anzac Prize. Sophie was prestigiously awarded the Premier’s Anzac Prize earlier this year and was 1 of 8 Queensland recipients to embark on the two-week-long historic journey.

The award provides an extraordinary opportunity for young Queenslanders to develop a deeper understanding of the Anzac legacy through research, workshops, and visits to respected memorial sites in the United Kingdom, and on the Western Front. Throughout the month of April, Sophie and the other celebrated recipients of the 2024 Premier’s Anzac Prize embarked on the journey of a lifetime undertaking fundraising projects to support returned veterans, learning the history of and commemorating Australian service persons, and participating in a Young Historians Workshop, all whilst touring significant memorial sites in London and the Western Front battlefields in Belgium and France.

The life-changing experience was invaluable to Sophie and will stand as a trip she will never forget.

“The trip was absolutely amazing, I learnt so much and it was great to experience a whole different culture overseas,” explained Sophie.

“It was quite amazing to visit all those World War I sights of significance, and it was definitely an emotional feeling standing there in the cemeteries where there were so many tombstones and it all dawned on me the gravity of World War I and what the ANZACS did for us.”

Sophies travels to the Western Front battlefields was not only a confronting experience but also a highly emotional one as she visited the land on which her Great, Great Uncle Garrett Swanson fought in World War I.

“He has no known grave but I know where he fought, and we went to those battlefields where he lies there in no-mans-land, and I actually stood where he lies, and was directly across from the fields where he still is, and it was so emotional for me because I could provide closure for my family as the first person to visit where he fell,” expressed Sophie.

Prior to Sophie’s travels, she also engaged with Giru State School to share her research and educated the students on the ANZAC spirit as part of her Commemorative Cross Project. Sophie spoke with students in years four to six, and together the students decorated the cross which she then placed at the memorials overseas.

As part of the Premier’s ANZAC Prize, Sophie undertook a Mates for Mates fundraising project where she raised over $1,800 with the help, generosity and support of her school, Ayr State High School, the local community, and her involvement with the Australian Air Force Cadet Squadron.

“I cannot thank the businesses in the Burdekin enough for their support in helping me reach my fundraising goal and I also did a couple of fundraisers at my local Australian Airforce Cadet Squadron, and also at Ayr High.”

Collectively, the group of passionate young awardees raised over $20,000 which will be directed towards funding support for returned veterans. Moving forward, Sophie is now an alumnus and plans to attend the annual School Service in Brisbane in 2025, held the day before ANZAC day. Her experiences as part of receiving such a prestigious award have been celebrated across the community, and she could not be more grateful.

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