Anna Jane Vea, 15, was declared the winner of Tonga’s Secondary Schools’ speech competition by the New Zealand High Commissioner Mark Talbot, yesterday, 30 March.

The competition marked the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli in World War I.

Anna, a Form 5 student from Tonga High School, was one of the top three students who contested a Grand Final at the New Zealand High Commissioner’s residence, Popua. The other two finalists were boys from Tupou College, ‘Atunaisa Namoa and Magarima Kami.

The High Commissioner said that the theme for the speech contest, invited Form 5-6 secondary school students to express their views of the war, the death of 16 million people, and finally the victory.

Tonga sent 91 soldiers to the battle fields of Gallipoli, Turkey and also to France and Palestine. They joined the 1^st New Zealand Expeditionary force, and 14 of them died in the battle field.

The speech contest was supported by the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand High Commissioner and preliminary rounds were held in Ha’apai, Vava’u and ‘Eua.

The winner and her chaperone will travel to New Zealand and join winners from Niue, Samoa and the Cook Islands on an educational tour of New Zealand. They will represent Tonga at a number of First World War commemorative events, culminating in the National ANZAC Day Commemoration in Wellington on 25 April. The prize includes flights, visas, accommodation and meals.

The speeches were adjudicated by Hon. Fe’ao Vakata, Minister for Internal Affairs, Brigadier-General Lord Fielakepa, Chief of Defence Staff of His Majesty’s Armed Forces, and the New Zealand High Commissioner.