A GROUP of shire students has been put in the picture when it comes to learning about our Anzac history.
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Ten Miranda Public School and two Port Hacking High School students have made a short film on the experience of two World War I Diggers from the shire to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli landing.
Called Jack and Tom, the film tells of two boys growing up in the shire during the early 1900s.
"We see them enjoying the idyllic lifestyle as they grow up," Miranda Public School principal Glen Carter said.
"Later we see the boys as young men heading off to World War I.
"Sadly, one will never return home.
"The movie ends with an old Digger standing at the cenotaph remembering his mate from long ago, his memories still very raw.
"He is once again visited by his mate who reassures him of his never-ending friendship.
"It is a story of mateship, courage and remembrance."
The story was researched and written by Mr Carter, with further ideas contributed by the students.
"They really got into what it was like to live in 1905," he said.
"At one stage, a student stopped the filming and said the dialogue needed to be changed.
"He said that young people would not have talked that way in 1905."
Film footage was shot in various shire locations.
"The Sydney Tram Museum at Loftus rolled out a 1915 tram for us to film on," Mr Carter said.
"We filmed the war scene at the back of Voodoo Beach and another at Greenhills Beach where Jack and Tom ride Duke Kahanamoku's surfboard."
The historic visit by Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku in 1915 was recently the focus of the Surf Retrospect 100 Years of Surfing celebrations.
Mr Carter said the making of the film taught the students many things.
"I think it gave them an understanding of what these young men went through," he said.
"They were telling a story so they were part of that story."
Mr Carter said students are hoping the film will be screened at the Anzac Day Commemorative service at Cronulla Beach.
