GREVILLEA SPIRIT OF ANZAC 20CM

'RSL Spirit of ANZAC Grevillea'

On 25 April 1915, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps stormed ashore at a location now known as ANZAC Cove,

It was a dreadful place to invade with steep cliffs favouring the fiercely-defending Ottoman Turks. The ANZACs were participating in war for the first time.

It was only thirteen years after Australia's federation that their efforts at

Gallipoli would unite our country more than any other event.

They were all fair dinkum volunteers. More than 11,000 ANZACS would not return home from Gallipoli. Although the campaign resulted in defeat, the remarkable bravery and

courage shown by the ANZACS lived on. This spirit carried them through the Great War at places such as Ypres, Fromelles, the Somme and Pazieres, in the Middle East and Beersheeba. Between 1915 and 1919 the ANZACS were awarded 66 Victoria Crosses,

the highest award for war-time bravery. The calibre of the first ANZACS created the heritage for all Australian servicemen and women in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan as the spirit of the ANZACS carried on through the decades.

This plant, officially named the "RSL Spirit of ANZAC Grevilled', commemorates the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces at Gallipoli and the many other conflicts since then.

The 'RSL Spirit of ANZAC Grevillea' was primarily selected for its lush red flowers, its trans-Australia heritage and the tough geographical conditions in which it grows and thrives.

The red flowers remind us of the blood shed by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli and the more than 61,000 Australians who died in the First World War. It reminds us that the ANZACS landed and fought in incredibly hostile conditions, as the parents of this hybrid are from some of the most in hospitable locations in Australia, either surrounded by kilometres of windswept sand dunes, battered by salt laden winds or subject to searing heat. The grevillea has survived and thrived, as has the ANZAC spirit in times of hardship. At those times Australians come together to rescue one another, to ease suffering, to provide food and shelter, to look after one another, and to let the victims of these disasters know they are not alone.

LEST WE FORGET ANZAC DAY

REMEMBERING 100 YEARS OF THE SPIRIT OF ANZAC