Remembering the Anzacs

Remembering the Anzacs

A group of crafty Dockanders has been making poppies in the lead-up to this month’s Anzac centenary commemorations.

The group has been working away since September, when the Library at the Dock put the call out for volunteers to craft poppies, and so far has made around 600 of them.

“The project started because there’s a state-wide initiative for communities to come together and create poppies in commemoration of the Anzac centenary,” Melbourne Library Service community heritage team leader Linda Longely explained.

“We thought it would be a great idea to do something with the local Docklands community.”

Since last September, 12 local women have been working on the project, meeting once a month at the Library at the Dock to craft poppies together.

“Most of the ladies are from the local crafting group but we’ve also had other members of the community join us at times who have been crafting independently,” Ms Longley said.

The local craft and social group has been meeting each Friday in Docklands for years and were keen to get involved with the project.

“We accepted the challenge and every body has interpreted the task a little bit differently,” NewQuay resident Barbara Rowe said.

Amongst the 600 poppies created by the Docklands community are weaved poppies, knitted poppies, paper poppies and crocheted poppies of varying shades of red.

And the group has been so busy making poppies that some have even taken to knitting on trams and crafting poppies at the pub.

“We’ve really enjoyed this project,” Ms Rowe said. “We want to continue on with other similar projects that give back to the community.”

The poppy crafting project will culminate this month with the launch of an exhibition at the Library at the Dock, featuring a window of poppies and photos of Docklands residents’ ancestors.

“Everyone in the (crafting) group had some ancestral connection with the Anzac centenary so there will be images and stories as well,” Ms Longley said.

“The community is invited to bring their photos in and we’ll put those into the window also. We really encourage the community to get involved and bring down photos of their relatives and share their stories.”

The exhibition will be launched at the Library at the Dock on April 21 at 6pm.

Local residents interested in sharing their photos and stories in the exhibition can contact Ms Longley on 9658 8017.

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