Emu Bottom Homestead owners Hedley and Jan Elliot help restore the Devanha, an original Gallipoli lifeboat

WHEN this Sunbury couple decided to give something back to the Anzacs, the result was the restoration of an original Gallipoli lifeboat.

Hedley Elliot and his anzac biscuits

EMU Bottom Homestead owners Hedley and Jan Elliot have scored a number of catering contracts with international airlines over the years on the back of their tasty Anzac biscuits.

So, 12 years ago, when the chance arose to financially back the restoration of one of Australia’s most important Gallipoli relics, the Devanha lifeboat, they jumped at it.

Mr Elliot said they always felt as if they should give something back to the Anzac legend.

“We don’t get orders constantly from airlines for hamper boxes, but when we do, they can be large orders,” Mr Elliot said.

“I felt we’d been trading off the Anzac name and, really, without the biscuits, we could have been struggling.”

Denis Baguley, Shrine of Remembrance chief executive, in front of the Shrine's Devanha lifeboat exhibit.

A trip to Canberra enabled the Elliots to find an important project they could support.

“I had a meeting with the Australian War Memorial and it was their number one item to restore,” Mr Elliot said.

While the price of restoration is confidential, he said the value to the museum was priceless.

“I can’t believe the reverence which is held for it, but it transported the injured to the hospital boat and, out of respect, it was never fired on by the Turks,” he said.

The lifeboat was first brought to Australia on a P&O ship in 1919.

It was retained in the country after P&O paperwork confirmed lifeboat No.5 was used in the Gallipoli campaign.

It was housed at the Australian War Memorial until it was decided a restoration was in order in the 1990s.

Restoration began in 2004.

The Devanha lifeboat.

Last year, the Devanha lifeboat was transported to Melbourne on loan to the redeveloped Shrine of Remembrance.

Shrine chief executive Denis Baguley said the lifeboat was “a national icon”.

“It was part of the original landing on April 25, was involved in the evacuation and with 3rd Field Ambulance (and 12th battalion) assigned to it, it could well have had Simpson (John Simpson Kirkpatrick) on board,” Mr Baguley said.

“We requested a loan of the lifeboat in 2004, and went back to them once the redevelopment of the shrine was under way.”

The Devanha lifeboat can be viewed at the Shrine.