Watson's Pier

Stan Watson never claimed to be the last man to leave Anzac Cove. On 20 December 1977, sixty-two years to the day since he last stepped from the Gallipoli shore, Watson takes a slow train to visit his family for Christmas and fragments of the long-forgotten truth come together in his mind. When his family gather to listen to his story of Gallipoli, Watson tells his tale with the same steadfast clarity of purpose that helped him get through the war all those years ago. Watson’s Pier is beautifully told, a mix of fact, fiction and veterans’ stories reaching back across generations to trace one man's personal journey, and with it the history of a nation. It also challenges the historical record of the final moments at Anzac Cove and offers a new perspective on the meaning of Gallipoli.