Warialda Railway Public School First World War Honor Roll

About

The memorial is a decorative bronze Wunderlich honour roll, which commemorates the past pupils of the Warialda Railway Public School who served in the First World War.  It was originally located at the school, where it was unveiled in June 1921, on the same day that a memorial obelisk was unveiled in the school grounds. The obelisk is listed separately on the NSW War Memorials Register as the Warialda Railway Public School First and Second World Wars Honour Roll. The bronze honour roll features a pediment shelf at the top with an egg-and-dart design in the centre. An ornate banner, crowned with two small sprigs of flowers, is situated below and contains a brass plaque with the memorial dedication inscribed in black lettering. The Union Jack and Australian flag sit either side of the banner. Small decorative columns frame each side of the top half of the honour roll, and the bottom of the honour roll is decorated with a fleur-de-lys between cut flowers. The names of 26 servicemen are individually inscribed in black on small metal plaques, which are attached in 3 columns on the honour roll. The Wunderlich company, which specialised in the manufacture of tiles and metal ceilings, also constructed metal honour rolls. During the1920s and 1930s the architectural features of the metal monuments changed and featured Australian symbols such as the Waratah. Fundraising for the school's honour roll, together with a memorial obelisk, was underway by May 1920. An advertisement appeared in the Warialda Standard and Northern Districts' Advertiser, 3 May 1920, for a sports day organised by the Warialda Railway Parents and Citizens' Association to be held on 22 May 1920, the proceeds of which were devoted to the purchase of the memorials.  At the November 1920 meeting of the Yallaroi Shire Council, Mr Hanscombe sought approval for the erection of an honour roll in the school and memorial obelisk in the school grounds, which was granted (Warialda Standard and Northern Districts' Advertiser, 15 November 1920). Six months later, on 4 June 1921, an unveiling ceremony organised by the Parents and Citizens' Association, was held at the school for both the honour roll and obelisk. A large crowd attended the event which was presided over by Mr J Bevridge, Chairman of the Parents and Citizens' Association, and included a picnic and races for the 200 children in attendance. Following the unveiling of the obelisk, the visitors moved into the school room where Mr D H Drummond MLA spoke of the value of school honour rolls and the sacrifice of the old boys and their parents. The school's headmaster, Mr Jackson, also addressed the gathering after which the honour roll was unveiled by Mrs M A Nay. The Warialda Standard and Northern Districts' Advertiser, 6 June 1921, described the day in detail, and published the names of the servicemen on the honour roll and obelisk.   The school was established as Burgaria Public School in July 1903 and closed in December 1971. The school was also known as Kelly's Gully until February 1952 and Warialda Rail until July 1959. Following the closure of the school and sale of the site, the Wunderlich roll was placed in the care of the Warialda RSL. It was later transferred to the Warialda Historical Society and was placed in the Warialda Museum, which opened in 2017.  The memorial is available for viewing when the museum is open to the public.