Meaghan Li: 'Operation Gallipoli... a revelation of New Zealand's past and the conception of its future.' - Photo copyright: Marcus Adams, Travelling Light Photography Ltd.

Speech, Gallipoli – a mind-changing experience

It is difficult to describe the best two weeks of your life in a few phrases, says the 2010 National Bank RSA Cyril Bassett VC speech contest winner Meaghan Li.

“It is nigh impossible to describe how amazing this trip has been,” the 17-year-old Year 13 student from Macleans College, Auckland says of her two weeks in New Zealand’s official delegation to the
95th Commemorations of the Landings at Gallipoli (part of her prize).

“I initially expected it to be a somewhat dour and grave event, but I met some incredibly colourful people and life-long friends.”

And she offers this reflection on her experience: “I used to think warfare was trivial, shameinducing, and wholly unnecessary. I used to think that joining the military was an easy way out; a choice to become a pawn in the perpetual political battle of destroy and conquer.

“This was the result of growing up as a 21st century teenager. The only facet of the New Zealand military I had witnessed was whatever the media fed me. News broadcasters reveal scandal and failure, photographers portray soldiers as heartless murderers, history immortalises politicians as plastic idols and callous tyrants.

“It was not until the Cyril Bassett VC Speech Contest and this trip that this perception of mine was wholly reversed. The Unknown Warrior taught me about selflessness and sacrifice. The veterans
taught me about hope and progression. The Defence Force taught me about camaraderie and loyalty. The students taught me about how ancestry can provide pride.

“Operation Gallipoli was an amazing experience and valuable lesson, and strengthened a sense of nationalism within me that I hadn’t realised until now existed. For me, this was not only a two-week trip, but a revelation of New Zealand’s past and the
conception of its future.”

In her daily blog on the RSA’s Remembrance website, Meaghan Li recalled her first day on the Gallipoli Peninsula – a poignant tour of sites such as the Ari Burnu cemetery for New Zealanders, the beach area where the Anzac soldiers landed, numerous memorial sites, clambering up the dense slopes where the battles were ought.

“It sends chills down my spine to think that 95 years ago, men as young as myself were at that same location. But instead of walking around with bottled water and digital cameras, they were running into machine fire and dying in copious amounts.”

On Anzac Day itself ‘We will remember them’ resonated around the banks of the peninsula in remembrance of the soldiers of all nationalities who landed there 95 years ago. She sums up: “The occasion was one of mourning, one of reflection, but most importantly a celebration of the perseverance of the human spirit.”

She concludes her Anzac Day blog: “Happy Anzac Day to those at home, I hope the occasion was not received merely as a day off work (as I used to think), but a commemoration of the sacrifice and bloodshed that built the foundations of our nation.”

Meaghan – who says she enjoys drama, debating, writing, youth advocacy, a good book and Bob Dylan – based her winning speech on the Unknown Warrior. She was asked by Veterans’ Affairs to repeat her speech to Gallipoli-bound veterans before they departed from Trentham Camp, and brought tears to the eyes of many of them.

As well as the Gallipoli trip, she received a trophy, a laptop, a digital camera, and a $1000 travel fund.

Regional winners received $1000 in a National Bank account, a framed certificate, and youth membership of the RSA. Each of the regional winners’ schools received $1000 and a military-history book.

A total of 143 year-12 and year-13 students from 86 schools entered the 2010 contest. The national finalists were – Northland:
Rachelle Cox (Bream Bay College, Ruakaka); Auckland: Meaghan Li (Macleans College, Auckland); Waikato–King Country–Bay of Plenty: Claire Gourley (Bethlehem College, Tauranga); Wairarapa–Hawke’s Bay–East Coast: Cameron Price (Napier Boys’ High School); Wellington–Taranaki–West Coast: Paige Muggeridge (New Plymouth Girls’ High School); Nelson–Marlborough–Westland: Simon Bush (Marlborough Boys’ College, Blenheim); Canterbury: James Rance (Ashburton College); Otago–Southland: Sarah Liley (Dunstan High School, Alexandra).

The involvement of Cyril Bassett VC’s regiment, 1st New Zealand Signals, brought the link with Cyril Bassett and The National Bank to life. The regiment displayed Cyril Bassett memorabilia, the unit flag, and examples of communications equipment used in 1916 and their modern equivalents, plus current uniforms, weaponry and an army vehicle.