Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Dundee resident Sam says she’s among thousands of Aussie women who’ve crocheted poppies that have been made into mats to be displayed this Anzac Day

Transcript

Dundee resident Sam says she’s among thousands of Aussie women who’ve crocheted poppies that have been made into mats to be displayed this Anzac Day · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: I are now a Zac Day tomorrow, a moment for
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  Speaker 1: us to all pause and remember. And joining me on
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  Speaker 1: the line right now is Sam, who is a Dundee resident.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Sam, Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now Sam, I understand that you and others have crocheted
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  Speaker 1: some poppies which are going to be used to make
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  Speaker 1: a five meter long mat or is it more than
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  Speaker 1: one mat?
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  Speaker 2: It's more than one mate, Oh, tell me about this.
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  Speaker 2: So these poppies were croached and knitted by thousands of
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  Speaker 2: women around Australia, and I believe there are a few
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  Speaker 2: and other places around the world that make contributions to
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  Speaker 2: We began in twenty thirteen and all poppies were sent
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  Speaker 2: to one place in Melbourne where they were all assembled
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  Speaker 2: on to five meter long mats. And these mats after
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  Speaker 2: how many years of collecting them in twenty eighteen, so
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  Speaker 2: that's three years of collect him and making him into matts.
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  Speaker 2: They were flown across to Europe and the UK and
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  Speaker 2: they were installed in places of significance to Australia in Europe,
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  Speaker 2: places like Delipoli Frommel's possiers. And then they also went
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  Speaker 2: on a display at the Repatriation Hospital in the Chelsea
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  Speaker 2: as part of a Chelsea Flower show in twenty eighteen.
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  Speaker 2: How incredible it is. It's absolutely incredible. And there were
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  Speaker 2: a number of ladies at Dundee who croatia and knitted.
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  Speaker 2: We just I just had a post bag and i'd
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  Speaker 2: krosier throw it in the bag, and whenever I got
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  Speaker 2: a full bag, I posted off and then I'll get
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  Speaker 2: a new bag. And I don't know how many bags
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  Speaker 2: I felt, but anyway, it all went down there. How beautiful.
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  Speaker 1: How many do you have any idea? How many you crocheted? Sam?
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  Speaker 2: None, I have no idea. I just kept crosering and yeah,
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  Speaker 2: until I ran out of wall, and then I got
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  Speaker 2: more wool. Well it was done. We didn't use pure
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  Speaker 2: wool because it gets eaten up very easily by bugs. Anyway,
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  Speaker 2: So I think there were about two hundred mats made.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know exactly how many, and they were flown
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  Speaker 2: to an airline YEP across to Europe and back again,
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  Speaker 2: and then they were putting installations at the Canberra War
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  Speaker 2: Memorial and other places around Australia, and then they were
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  Speaker 2: put into storage and the people who organized it or said, well,
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  Speaker 2: we're just going to send him out to the people
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  Speaker 2: who made contributions and then thee got two mats. Oh
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  Speaker 2: that's awesome.
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  Speaker 1: So they're going to be on display, aren't they at
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  Speaker 1: the Sand Palms.
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  Speaker 2: At Sandpans Memorial. Yeah, from nine o'clock yep, tomorrow morning.
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  Speaker 1: How lovely, So Sam Palms Memorial from nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
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  Speaker 1: People are able to go out there and see these mats.
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  Speaker 1: And by the sounds of it, you know, not only
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  Speaker 1: have they traveled to all of those really very significant
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  Speaker 1: and important locations, but this is truly a labor of
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  Speaker 1: love and reflection.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, that's exactly what it is. And well we sort
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  Speaker 2: of look at it now as a piece of history
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  Speaker 2: and we've spread it around Australia now, so yeah, and
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  Speaker 2: it's just our way of saying thank you to all
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  Speaker 2: the people who sacrificed and are still sacrificing because they're
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  Speaker 2: rich men and their moms are coping with sons and
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  Speaker 2: grandmothers and grandparents are coping with grandchildren that have returned.
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  Speaker 1: And yeah, and Sam, is your family do you have
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  Speaker 1: you know, have you been in a situation where your
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  Speaker 1: family have been members of the defense force, or do
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  Speaker 1: you have any special sort of connection.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, I had one great uncle, two great uncles
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  Speaker 2: from different sides of my parents' background die over in
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  Speaker 2: Europe and they're buried over there. Yeah. And I have
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  Speaker 2: a family member who went to Vietnam and returned different,
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  Speaker 2: and another family member who's gone to Afghanis Stand and
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  Speaker 2: returned a little bit different as well. So yeah, it's
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  Speaker 2: a really important thing to do. Love.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a really important thing to do. And so Sam,
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  Speaker 1: you said as well, You're not the only wonderful woman
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  Speaker 1: from Dundee that's been involved in this. Has there been
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  Speaker 1: a few of you?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I think that about a dozen of them. I
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  Speaker 2: can't name them all because you might have got someone.
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  Speaker 2: It's terrible because you know, we all just sort of
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  Speaker 2: did what I did it. It's like Crosier while we
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  Speaker 2: watching the movie at nighttime Plunker. I'd do about ten
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  Speaker 2: or fifteen or so and plunk them in the bag,
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  Speaker 2: and when the post bag got full, we just posted off.
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  Speaker 2: And as it turns out, there were the persons who
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  Speaker 2: organized it down south stre about a dozen of us,
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  Speaker 2: and so the Dundee Progress Association has got custody of
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  Speaker 2: them and they just distribute them out to whoever's going
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  Speaker 2: to have them on display, and this year it's the
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  Speaker 2: Sampan's memorial.
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  Speaker 1: Beautiful stuff. Hey Ef, Yeah, if you've got a photo,
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  Speaker 1: would you be able to send one across to us
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  Speaker 1: so Crystal and I can have a bit of a
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  Speaker 1: look and we might be able to share it on
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  Speaker 1: the socials so that our listeners can see it as well.
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  Speaker 2: I can do that, legends that if you can put
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  Speaker 2: me on hold, I'll get Christal's number.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, Sam, thank you so much for having a chat
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  Speaker 1: with us this morning. I think it's a really lovely
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  Speaker 1: thing that you've done. And to you and everybody else involved, ye,
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  Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining us and telling us about it.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for having me on there anytime.
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  Speaker 1: Good on you, Sam, Thank you