Greek soil to be sent to Australia for the ANZAC Centenary

Australia's Ambassador to Greece Kate Logan has collected soil from four sites in mainland Greece and Crete where Australian troops fought in WW2. The soil will be sent to Sydney to be placed at a special site together with soil from other Australian battlegrounds as part of the commemorations for the ANZAC Centenary. Ambassador Logan spoke to SBS Greek, about the Soil Collection Project, Greece and the ANZAC connection.

Australian ambassador Kate Logan collecting soil from Vevi in Northern Greece for the ANZAC Memorial Centenary Project Source: Supplied

A box of soil sits in Ambassador Kate Logan's Athens office.  It was collected from Vevi, Tempe, Platanias and Rethymno and it will be send, by diplomatic bag, to Sydney. 

Vevi, in Northern Greece, was the place where Australians first encountered the Nazi Army, including the infamous Wehrmacht, on European soil in April 1941. 

Tempe, a valley of exceptional natural beauty at the feet of Mt Olympus, is the ancient home of the Muses and a place where the Allied forces fought bravely to halt the Nazi advance a few days after the defeat at Vevi where the Aussie battalions were decimated despite their valiant efforts.

Platanias and Rethymno are among the famed places of Crete where wreaths are being laid every year on the 20th of May to commemorate the battle that, according to some historians, changed the course of WW2, the Battle of Crete.

Source: Supplied

What does Greece have to do with the ANZACS?

History has many sides that wait to be acknowledged. When we think of all things ANZAC we, inevitably, refer to Gallipoli and the First World War. However, the ANZAC Corp was formed for the second and last time in Greece in 1941. The Australians and New Zealanders who were part of the Greek Campaign in 1941 are the only ANZACs of WW2, the only ones who bear this title. Hence, collecting soil from Greece for the Anzac Memorial fits perfectly with the Centenary of ANZAC and its many commemorations.

Ambassador Logan says the experience was moving for both Aussies and Greeks who still remember and honor the Australians who defended their country over 75 years ago:

" The memories are still vivid and fresh. People have very fond memories of the Australians and the New Zealanders and it's so moving when you visit these quite remote villages and say you are from Australia, people are affectionate, they want to talk to you and they want to know more (...) they are people in their eighties who were children at the time (of WW2) who still have memories." 

According to Ambassador Logan Vevi, Tempe, Platanias and Rethymno are among 100 sites of military significance in 31 countries where soil will be collected and send to Australia to be placed in the ANZAC Memorial in Sydney's Hyde Park.

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