Torchbearers: Kyabram Legacy chair Peter Fitzgerald with the Year 5 and 6 St Augustine’s College students, who prepared torches in honour of the centenary celebration of Legacy. The Kyabram group will be represented in a six-month torch relay that started in France on Anzac Day and will visit every Legacy club in Australia.
Kylie Morrissey didn’t have to be convinced to throw her hand skyward when it came time to organise the annual St Augustine’s College Lone Pine Ceremony again.
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She was given the opportunity to speak in front of dignitaries, the college choir, legatees, widows and senior primary students last week — explaining what the guardianship of the Aleppo pine tree meant to the school community.
“It is much more than a tree that we are looking after,” she said, referring to the 24-year-old lone pine tree that has its roots deeply embedded at the entrance to the college.
“The beautiful poems and speeches we have heard remind us of our responsibilities, not just caring for a tree, but caring for one another.”
Ms Morrissey visited the original Lone Pine at Gallipoli, in Türkiye, as a 24-year-old.
“I was much older, even then, than the men who had died at Gallipoli,” she said.
Relay partners: Kyabram Legacy widow Isobel Attwood and Legatee Graeme James will share the honour of representing their group on September 23 when they complete a leg of the Centenary of Legacy relay at Shepparton.
Sharing their thoughts: St Augustine’s College Year 11 students Isla Carver and Ethan Ciavarella offered their insight into the horrors of war when they addressed the gathering that included Year 5 and 6 students and a host of dignitaries last Wednesday.
“Our Year 5 and 6 students know what services are through their actions. Service begins by looking out for your family and friends and, as you get older, reach out to others to offer support.
“We aim to reach out to welcome all and support the work of Legacy and its Laurel Club well into the future,” she said. Ms Morrissey was speaking not long after the Year 5 and 6 students at the ceremony had raised “homemade’’ legacy torches in a tribute to the organisation.
Kyabram Legacy secretary Gavon Armstrong was glowing in his praise of the college’s deputy principal, who had made an early call to move the event indoors for only the second time in its 24-year history.
“Listening to Kylie, I think our country is in pretty good shape — especially in Kyabram,” he said.
Mr Armstrong said one of the great aspects of the Lone Pine Ceremony was the involvement of the students.
College student Ava Clarke laid one of three wreaths, honouring her father’s 20-year involvement in the defence force.
This year’s centenary celebration of the Legacy movement will soon see a torch relay arrive in the region. Representatives from the 62-year-old Kyabram group will be involved.
Kyabram has 22 Legatees, who support just under 40 widows from Kyabram, Tongala, Stanhope, Merrigum and Girgarre.
“Most of us visit our widows once a month, provide them with Christmas vouchers to be spent in local businesses and see them again at our November Christmas luncheon,” Mr Armstrong said.
“It will be many years until Legacy’s task is completed.”
Vietnam veteran Graeme James and Isobel Attwood will carry the torch on behalf of the Kyabram group on September 23.
Shepparton army cadets Thomas Simpson and Scarlett Burns played a role in the ceremony, along with Year 11 college students Isla Carver and Ethan Ciavarella.
They spoke about the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of Australia from Vietnam. They recognised the work of the college’s Partnerships for the Future students, who had designed and built the Anzac fire pit, a feature piece in the ceremony.
There are 44 Legacy clubs across Australia and one in London, with the Kyabram group standing proudly among that number. A poem written primarily for the first Lone Pine Ceremony in Kyabram 25 years ago (by Graham ‘Skew Wiff’ Watt) was read by John Lilford and chair Peter Fitzgerald paid tribute to former Legatee Bob Drysdale, the most prominent figure in having the trees planted in the region.
“The tree has enormous significance to us and the school,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
At ease: Legatees Stan McIntosh (left) and Max Webster flank Shepparton army cadets Thomas Simpson and Scarlett Burns during the flag-raising ceremony.
Master of ceremonies: Long-serving Kyabram Legacy secretary Gavon Armstrong in front of the fire pit, created by St Augustine’s College Partnerships for the Future students, featured a Legacy flame as its centrepiece.
Paying her respects: Ava Clarke honoured the services of her father to the armed forces by laying a wreath at the Lone Pine Ceremony.
Born to perform: Ashlee Alley (right) has time for a quick smile while accompanying soloist Jasmine Grima in opening proceedings at the Lone Pine Ceremony with a series of Australian-themed songs.
We are one: Words were matched by actions in this presentation by the college choir; leading the way were Maggie Hempbill and Marlee James.
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