It was a long day in Canberra today, with an early start to arrive in time for our tour of Government House and a late finish as we stayed at War Memorial for the Last Post Ceremony. We didn’t struggle to find things to keep ourselves busy in between as we visited the CSIRO Discovery Centre and enjoyed the sunshine in the park at lunch time.
Government House
Government House is one of two official residencies of the Governor General. We learnt that the Constitution says the Governor General has to live in Government House while he or she is doing the job. We also learnt that it was originally a farmhouse with 40,000 sheep before it became the Governor General’s house.
“I think the trip to the Governor General’s house was fantastic because we got to see actual photos of the Queen. We also went to see the dining room, but unfortunately the Governor General wasn’t there because he had very important work to do. I learnt that the Governor General represents the Queen. Also, that he has to be recommended to the Queen by the Prime Minister. I also liked the house and the medals he had on display” – Asah Garea
We learnt about the four Cs that make up the Governor General’s job – Constitutional, Community, Commander in Chief, and Ceremonial. Most Governor Generals like the community part because it means they can get out and about and meet people. The strangest thing we learnt was that the Governor General isn’t allowed to drive a car – he has to be chauffeured everywhere, and always goes with a Police escort. What an interesting life!
CSIRO Discovery Centre
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is responsible for a whole bunch of innovations – WiFi, polymer banknotes, aerosol and much more. The Discovery Centre provided students with the opportunity to explore some of the areas of research CSIRO scientists are involved in.
“The CSIRO was one of the most interesting events that happened today. The main reason why is because each of us managed to learn many new and interesting things. One new thing that I learnt was that the CSIRO created WiFi, which is one of the most used things today. We played some fun games there that taught us many facts. The game involved lots of physical activity and ended with a prize. I personally enjoyed myself there and liked playing with all the interesting gadgets and exhibits. Overall, the CSIRO is really amazing and I advise you to go there and check it out yourself” – Daniel Yong
Australian War Memorial Part 2
Our second visit the War Memorial allowed students to explore the Discovery Zone, an interactive area where they can experience different aspects of war like the trenches of WWI, a Cold War-era submarine, a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter, and what the home front was like in Australia during WWII.
Following this, students explored the other galleries in groups until it was time for the Last Post Ceremony in the Commemorative Area. During the ceremony, we got to hear the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour and two of our students were selected to lay a wreath on behalf of Rehoboth during this special ceremony.
“On 25 June we went to the War Memorial. In my opinion, the War Memorial is really fun and you can learn so many cool things there. One of the places we went to is the Afghanistan section. We watched a half an hour video of the Afghanistan War and it was really cool to watch. In the video, there were people talking and they were fighting in the War. We also heard some stories and one of them was when a young child was sleeping and he got shot during his sleep. Another place we went to was the Discovery Zone. In the Discovery Zone, we got to go into a helicopter, a submarine and in a trench and they were all really fun. There were so many fun things to do. In the helicopter, there were buttons and little levers and they made the whole thing seem even better. In the submarine, we got to lie in the beds and steer the submarine. There were also little compartments that the people used to put all of there things and there was another compartment that had this disgusting stinking smell, which is what the submarine would smell like. In the trench, we got to see trench foot and it was so yucky. My Dad and I also found a relative of ours on the wall. We bought a poppy and placed it on the Roll of Honour next to his name. Another thing that was very fun was the gift shop. In the gift shop there were so many cool things to buy, and I bought a keyring. All in all, the War Memorial was really fun and we had a great time” – Aliza Merlo
