Hawkesbury Ag College commemorate the ANZAC's through their traditions

ANZAC Day is one event that the students are proud to be apart of as the day "holds a heavy but almost sacred significance," said HAC Student Tyla Dibbsy.

Recently, Australian historian and professor at Murdoch University, Dean Aszkielowicz, was recorded by some students in one of his lectures saying that the ANZACs who fought in Gallipoli were "killers" and that our memorialising of them is about their drinking, more than them fighting to protect our way of life.

He added to this by telling his students that ANZAC Day nationalism is a diminishing "cliche". These comments were met with a lot of criticism.

Director of the Australian War Memorial Mr Brendan Nelson spoke to 2GB's Chris Smith and said "I regard what he said as absolutely disgraceful."

He went on to challenge the idea that it is a diminishing cliche by saying that he has seen growth in ANZAC Day services.

The HAC ANZAC Day services and traditions also provides a differing picture to Mr Aszkielowicz controversial comments.

The third year residential students at HAC not only organise the day but are very active in all the events, which includes leading the boys for a walk from their houses to the sundial prior to the dawn service for a moment of silence and to reflect on everything that has come before them at the university.

The girls also meet up and walk over to the dawn service as a group.

The students are the main attendees of the dawn service that is held outside of the memorial hall.

The third years set up and organise the morning service while the boys walk to Richmond for breakfast before returning to the top of College Drive for the traditional march.

The students wear a mixture of traditional HAC ties, blazers and scarves.

Led by bagpipes and a horse drawn carriage servicemen and women, university dignitaries, representatives from across the Hawkesbury, previous college students and guests join the current students for a march down College Drive. This is followed by the morning service led by the third years.

Then there is the planting of the Lone Pine and the traditional war cry which sees every student, past and present, join together to sing for the College and to honour and memorialise the ANZACs.

The service attendees and students head over to the universities cafe to play a game of Two-Up.

Every Year new students join the services and traditions of the day. They become apart of something that is bigger than them.

Third Year students Atticus Strong and Amy Brown were the main organisers of the events and were honoured to be involved in such a great tradition, especially as Amy was joined by her father LCDR Steve Brown.

"As an Australian it's a honour and a privellage to be able to worship both the men and women whom have paid the ultimate sacrifice," said Atticus.

"Being apart of ANZAC day on HAC was a truly wonderful experience and being able to commemorate the day as apart of HAC was an honour and a privilege I won't soon forget."

"I thought that it was a privilege to be a part of a day that means so much to a lot of people ... it also made me feel really proud of the work that my dad and so many other defence people do today ... I felt connected to the people that are a part of HAC," said Amy.

"It's a tradition on ANZAC Day [at HAC] that the students run the day and organise everything leading up to it.

"I really enjoyed learning and understand more about the history and all the traditions that go on."

Tyla Dibbsy raised the Australian flag at both the dawn and morning services and said, "participating in a tradition that is over 100 years old that honours those who helped forge not just our country, but our cultural identity is quite a humbling experience.

"In WW1 all able [HAC] students and staff alike went off to serve. One in five did not come back. For the students who still live on campus, that is a sobering statistic.

"Throughout the last century and into the 21^st [Century], the residents of Hawkesbury campus have aimed to keep the memory of those who served alive."

Dr Graham Swain was the principal of HAC from 1972 until 1993 and was in attendance at the memorial service.

He was proud to see the traditions of the college being carried on and the active participation of the students despite the college being very different to what it was when he was the principal.

They are traditions that continue to see new people enter and even return to the college every year, to be apart of the day.

In response to Mr. Aszkielowicz's comments Amy said, "people connect with Anzac Day differently, many younger people may not go to the actual services but it doesn't mean they don't think about the soldiers."

"For many people playing two-up and talking to veterans is a way they can truly understand what went on and feel like they have a connection to the ANZAC's."

Tyla mentioned that he detests the use of the word 'cliche' to describe ANZAC Day but that he too can see that participation in the day from his generation is "sadly diminishing."

He went on to say, "As put by one young lady that I spoke with last week, 'we are celebrating murderers who were only fighting for the political interests of their nation. An agenda that has not changed to this day.'"

"Myself, I do not believe that statement, however it is a worrying thought that those in my own generation take a stance in this way and hold it as gospel. Sad indeed"

Atticus said, "There are more than 10 million Australians who attend services or commemorate the day in a special way, as it is a day that has touched every single Australian family in one way or another."

Some may see ANZAC Day as diminishing but the students of HAC don't want it to be.

They want to keep the traditions of their college alive by continuing to participate in them and to teach the college history to the next generation coming through.