Aston draws on war's anguish to win

Ten-year-old Aston Hamilton from Pillans Point with his winning entry in the primary schools' Gallipoli postcard competition. Photo / George Novak

A touching "postcard" of a group of diggers putting a brave face on tough times in the trenches at Gallipoli 100 years ago has won first prize for Pillans Point School student Aston Hamilton.

Tauranga primary school pupils were asked to pretend they were at Gallipoli in 1915 and make postcards to send home to loved ones in New Zealand.

Aston's entry, which involved two weeks of research, writing and drawing, was awarded the $200 top prize by judge and artist Debbie Tipuna.

His postcard was given a clever touch of authenticity by brushing black tea on the flip side of his postcard so that when it dried the paper looked old.

More than 500 entries were received in three divisions from school pupils for the contest organised by the WW100 Tauranga Committee.

The judges were so impressed with the standard of entries they decided to award three extra highly commended prizes in the diary and postcard competitions.

Aston had to wait with mounting excitement as the list of winners was read out in reverse order at the presentation at Tauranga Library on Friday.

He said he did not think about what style he would use when he compiled his postcard that featured a picture on one side and message home on the other.

His straightforward approach of a black outline drawing with pencil shading captivated the judge who was also struck by the heartfelt message home.

Aston said art was his favourite subject at school and the win has encouraged him to get even more creative - using the tablet that he intends to buy with his prize money.

Contest organisers Fiona Kean and Debbie McCauley were delighted with the response from schools.

Aimee Tomlinson's winning essay for Year 11-13 students was praised by judge Stephanie Smith for showing how a deeply unsuccessful campaign at Gallipoli came to be of such importance to New Zealanders.

Tauranga author Susan Brocker, the judge of the diary division for Year 7-10 pupils, was impressed with the high degree of factual accuracy and understanding of the historical context shown by the entries.

The winning entry was a movie made by Catherine Van Pelt of Tauranga Girls' College, based on Gallipoli photos and reading extracts from her diary that brought home the horrors of the campaign.

Ms Tipuna, who judged the primary schools' postcard competition, said the messages home depicted the pain and anguish of war and being away from loved ones.

"It was obvious that some had researched their topic extensively."

Special mentions were made during the prizegiving to Fiona Kean, the Mount Maunganui and Tauranga RSAs, and the council which paid for the education packs that went out to schools.