Casino District School First World War Roll of Honor

About

This war memorial is a bronze honour roll for ex-students of the Casino District School who served in the First World War. At the top it has an an egg shape, which is associated with the egg and dart classical decorative design of early buildings. Written underneath, is the name of the school and its motto. The board is decorated with flora, scroll work and the Union Jack and Australian flags. At the bottom of the piece is a small fleur-de-lys, associated with purity. The names of the enlistees are attached to the face of the memorial via individual metal plaques. The whole is mounted on a timber backing board.  Planning for the board was underway by late April 1921, when teachers and the ladies committee of the Casino Parents and Citizens' Association worked together to form a tea room to organise funds "for the purpose of procuring an honor roll for the school, over 200 ex-pupils of which had volunteered for service and joined up with the A.I.F." (The Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser, 29 April 1921). Following the annual meeting of the Association held in March 1922, it was reported in the Northern Star (Lismore), 22 March, a design for the roll had been selected and it would cost of 40 pounds. Some money was to be set aside from recent fundraising for the school's new classroom. The meeting also discussed donating a book to the library in honour of each solider. The list of names for the roll was published in the Casino and Kyogle Courier and North Coast Advertiser on 12 April, with a call-out for any omitted names.  The memorial was manufactured by the Wunderlich Company of Sydney, who created many honour rolls for the First and Second World Wars. Initially, its unveiling was scheduled for the annual bazaar to be held on Empire Day on 24 May 1922, but owing to the delay in shipping, the memorial was not available. The ceremony took place on 9 June and was described in detail in the Courier on 10 June. The roll was unveiled by the local member of Parliament Mr R.S. Perdrian M.L.A., who had served for a long time with the A.I.F. At the time of the unveiling, the school was known as the Casino District School. Over time, it took on various forms, eventually becoming a Public School in January 1945. The roll is only available for viewing at the Casino Public School during opening hours.