Eleven members of Cloran family in Gallipoli for Anzac

ELEVEN members of the Cloran clan — with no direct descendants — have made it to Gallipoli to experience what it means to be Australian.

AFTER three years of planning, 11 members of the Cloran clan from Sydney’s inner west made it to Gallipoli to experience as a family the spirit of what it means to be Australian.

They had no direct descendants who fought on the peninsula and for that reason did not want to apply for the 2015 commemoration ballot and potentially take a ticket from someone more deserving.

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But matriarch Joanne Cloran said the family still wanted to make the trip together and share a memorable experience.

“We wanted to make it a gift for all of us and I asked the family if they preferred to go somewhere else but they all said they wanted to do Turkey,” she said.

Memorable experience ... Fred, Amy, baby Alice and Alexander Cloran on Anzac Cove beach at Gallipoli. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

Joanne had planned to buy 10 airline tickets but then Fred and Amy had baby Alice, six months, and undeterred the family just bought an 11th ticket.

“We really wanted to pay our respects and to do it as a family is special,” said Amy, Alice’s mum as the toddler splashed in the cold waters of Anzac Cove.

Cousin Alexander, 7, enjoyed walking along the beach at Gallipoli but after mentioning they had stopped off in Hong Kong en route added: “Disneyland was a bit better.”

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