The Anzacs were landed at Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915 and although landed on the wrong beach, they fought on in the face of overwhelming odds. During their eight-month campaign approximately 50,000 Australians served at Gallipoli and of these 19,500 were wounded and 8,700 were killed. Across Australia, friends and families mourned the heavy casualties.

The people in Mount Hawthorn, Western Australia, suffered the loss of local men and planned an ambitious project to build a house that would be both a home for a wounded soldier, and a memorial to the ANZAC landings.

Community spirit inspired dozens of men, women and children to donate materials, money or their labour to the project that also required clearing a block of land and the carting of materials to the site. When a town crier awoke the suburb at 3.30 am on the 12th February 1916 with "Arise, arise, Anzac Cottage is to be built today!" Hundreds of men responded to the call. They set out working from sun-up to sun-down, in a race against the clock, to build the cottage in a single day.

On the 16th April 1916, Anzac Cottage was formally presented to Private John Porter, a wounded soldier from the 11th Battalion, in front of a community proud of their record-breaking achievement.

Significance of the story . . .

This is a highly relevant story that presents the story of Gallipoli and the importance of Anzac Day to children. With its theme of 'remembering' and highly evocative illustrations, this book can be read and appreciated for many years to come.

Readership . . .

School children reading the book in Villers-Bretonneux.

• as a general reader for children in the middle to upper primary and lower secondary years

• as a 'read-to' for parents to children

• as resource for teachers and librarians to introduce Anzac Day

• for people interested in local history, war memorials or heritage buildings

• for people interested in stories arising from Gallipoli or World War I