Rappville and District Great War Roll of Honour (Destroyed)

About

Note: This roll of honour no longer exists. It was destroyed in a bushfire in 2019.  Former description The memorial was a large honour roll for the First World War, made of polished Australian cedar. It featured a classically designed pediment at the top and a fluted column topped with a carved urn on each side. The pediment was embellished with colourful paintings of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, including a Rising Sun emblem instead of the seven-pointed star of Federation. The coat of arms was flanked by the crossed Union Jack and Australian flag and surrounded by branches of wattle. Two waratah flowers were also painted on the base piece of the board.  The roll included 100 names, divided across three columns. The first and third columns were for 'District Volunteers' and the centre column was titled 'Old Boys'. The names were expertly printed in silver and lined with gold. The text of the dedication was in a similar style and gave the start year as 1914 but the end year was not filled in at any stage.  The memorial was on display in a large glass cabinet at the Rappville Hall. Tragically, the hall burnt down in a bushfire in October 2019, destroying this roll and two others. These are listed separately on the NSW War Memorials Register as the Rappville Second World War Roll of Honour (Destroyed) and the Wyan School and District First World War Roll of Honour (Destroyed). History Planning for the memorial was underway by early 1917. The Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser, 13 April 1917, reported a fundraising dance had been held at Rappville on 30 March, in aid of an honour roll for Rappville Public School. The event raised £26 11s, to go with the £18 already raised by the committee. At the time, the committee was also reviewing designs for the roll, which would accommodate about 100 names. When describing the work to date, the Express said: Mr. T. Hamilton, secretary, has been busy getting the names of all the volunteers who went to the front from here. As the district is scattered much care is needed to see that no name is overlooked.  The final design was chosen by committee members Messrs Ford and Hamilton. It was made by Brown and Jolly of Lismore, long-established builders who also made cabinets and furniture. They were responsible for a number of timber honour rolls for the war across the North Coast of NSW. The memorial was unveiled at the school on Empire Day, 24 May 1917 by Mr Massey Greene, M.H.R. The ceremony attracted some 300 people and was reported in detail in the Northern Star on 30 May.  At the time of the unveiling, there was no public hall in Rappville. Once it was completed, a public meeting was held on 23 August 1928 in conjunction with the school's Parents and Citizens Association. It was decided to move the roll to the hall, along with two war trophies that had been allocated to the town (Northern Star, 28 August 1928). The roll was rededicated in its new home on 11 November 1928 by Bishop Ashton of Grafton (The Richmond River Express, 16 November 1928). Note: Research on the soldiers listed in the below table was based on the A.I.F. Project website and Clarence Valley Volunteers: World War I by Tony Morley (Grafton, 2004).