The daughter of a Gallipoli hero whose story featured in the recent popular TV series The War That Changed Us will address a reception at noon after a public service at the Baha’i Temple in Sydney on 21 September to mark the International Day of Peace.
Judy Hassall, a former member of the national governing body of the Baha’is of Australia, will speak in the Temple’s reception centre about how the legacy of her father, Archie Barwick, inspired her to work for peace in the world.
As well as being depicted in the ABC series, her decorated father Sgt Archie Barwick (1890-1976) describes his experiences in Gallipoli and on the Western Front via excerpts from his diaries in the acclaimed book, In Great Spirits, published this year by HarperCollins.
After World War 1, Archie Barwick was an active mediator in his farming community, resolving many disputes and counselling many men in distress. He believed in religious harmony and a united world.
Influenced by his guidance, Mrs Hassall joined the Baha’i Faith in the early 1960s. Serving for many years as the public information officer for the Australian Baha’i Community, Mrs Hassall was at the forefront of peace and interfaith activities in Sydney, assisting refugees and arranging media exposes of human rights abuses, including the persecution of Baha’is in Iran.
With her friend, the prominent peace activist Stella Cornelius, she assisted in the establishment of the Media Peace Prize and worked with a range of organisations that focussed on peace, interfaith harmony and human rights.
During the International Year of Peace in 1986 she was one of the organisers of the Peace Expo, which attracted more than 10,000 participants.
Prior to the address by Mrs Hassall, there will be a public interfaith service in the Temple, starting at 11am, which will feature readings from the sacred scriptures of the major world religions.