The eve of the ANZAC Day Centenary saw the vision behind The 5000 Poppies Project brought to life on the steps of Federation Square.
A carpet of poppies in all shapes, sizes and hues of red blanketed the steps in a stunning tribute to the ANZACs. More poppies could be seen on stalks sprouting out of the small patches of green that line the edges of Fed Square.
Through out the day, the crowd of people looking and taking photos didn’t get smaller, it grew as more people were drawn to the stunning red oasis that could be seen from meters up Swanston Street and down St Kilda Road.
Julie and Ian Woolf and Eric and Carol Shade were touched by the respect and honour for the ANZACs embodied by the community outpouring of support towards the project.
Both couples knew of the project and had made their way to Fed Square for the launch.
What do you think about the project?
Julie: It was absolutely fantastic. It really creates a field of poppies. It’s a lot of work by a lot of good people.
Carol: I’m just blown away by the size and the different ways that some of the poppies have been set up and displayed in order to portray the ANZAC centenary.
Ian: I think the overwhelming response that they got- they were looking for 5000 and they got more than 250, 000- just shows how the ANZAC tradition is [still] actually upheld by Australians.
Eric: It’s just staggering all the work that’s gone into it by all the people that have done it.
Carol: Just to walk down Swanston Street and be confronted by this red carpet is beautiful.
Julie: The red, you can see it as you’re coming down, it’s gorgeous.
Did you know about the project before today?
Carol: Well I’ve been following the progress on the website and I had a quick look this morning before I left home and discovered there were going to be these big metal structures as well [the poppy sculptures that sit at the top of the stairs].
Julie: We came in last Friday and helped them a little. So we had seen a little bit of it, not in position but some of how they’d constructed it which was fantastic.
What do you think has inspired so much support from the community in the form of these handmade poppies?
Julie: Just the ANZAC spirit I think.
Ian: I think it’s the respect.
Carol: It’s the simple concept of doing something for the ANZACs. It was an easy sort of task to achieve; [anyone] could do a little bit in order to make this huge red carpet.
Julie: Yes, everybody could help. It was good just to remind everybody of the ANZACs.
What drew you to the project?
Julie: Well we knit and crochet so it was something we could easily contribute to!
Ian: Well hang on, two of you knit and crotchet, the rest of us don’t!
[Laughs]
Carol: Well Eric’s father was at Gallipoli, my grandfather was in France so it’s something that’s in many families in Melbourne and around Australia. I think many people have an connection to the ANZACs.
Ian: I think it just shows the enormous respect and recognition that people have got for what our forbearers did to keep Australia the country that it is today. To give us the freedoms that we have.
Julie: I like the different ways they’ve displayed them too. Some of them are flowers [on stems rooted in the ground] and some as a mat on the ground.
Left to right: Carol and Eric Shade and Julie and Ian Woolf.