2016-05-03
Speech in Parliament: Over the past two weeks I have attended a number of Anzac-related events—everything from the laying of wreaths at the cenotaph in Moonee Valley to attending a church service at St Paul’s last weekend. An event that affected me profoundly was an exhibition called Women Wept, which looks at the First World War through women’s eyes. In an era when letters, telegrams and newspapers were the only means of communication, how did they cope without having to know what was happening to their husbands, to their sons or to their brothers fighting on the other side of the world?
Karenne Ann, Heather Horrocks and Tamara Watt explored the stories of these mothers, sisters, brides and friends of those who had enlisted. They brought on an exhibition that was both beautiful and profound, and they also showed how painful it was for the women and children who were left behind. One hundred years on this still echoes. The piece in the exhibition that profoundly moved me was the glory box. It was full of linen, clothing and towels that clearly a young bride had collected and that was never going to be used. In these kinds of exhibitions we remember the horror of war and hope we are never, ever foolish enough to go there again.