Cooranbong Public School First World War Roll of Honour

The memorial is a timber roll of honour for the First World War. It has a traditional shaped pediment, featuring the phrase 'For God King & Country' in gold lettering. Below this is a remembrance wreath and crossed Union Jack and Australian Red Ensign flags. Under the flags is a blue ribbon, with 'Cooranbong Public School' in gold lettering. On the main body of the board is the list of 26 veterans, also painted in gold. The list is divided into two sections, titled 'Ex-Scholars' and 'Other local volunteers'. The first list contains 16 names of those who attended the school and the second contains 10 names of other residents of Cooranbong.

The board measures 3 feet 6 inches tall by 2 feet 3 1/2 inches wide, or 107 cm by 69 cm. It is mounted in the foyer of the school, outside the administration office. Access to the memorial is by appointment/tour.

Several names on this roll also appear on the Dora Creek First World War Honour Roll.

The veterans

Corporal James Alfred Goldspink is the only veteran marked as killed in action on the roll. Two other veterans, Private Christian Lawrence Marshall and Driver William John Shiels, were inadvertently missed and not marked as killed. C G Tonkin is the only veteran marked as wounded in action.

Six of the veterans listed are unable to be traced or identified with links to Cooranbong or the surrounding area, on the AIF Project or National Archives of Australia databases. They are: J Barry, C J Jackson, A Jones, L Mathews, J Reeves and C G Tonkin. Please click on 'view' in Mr Tonkin's record below for further details.

The school

From the publication Cooranbong Public School, 155 Years of Education 1861–2016:

In 1861 a weatherboard room measuring 45ft x 15ft located within the grounds of the Catholic Church was made available by the priest on a lease for 17 years.

The school opened on 25th November 1861 according to the District Inspector at the time, with an initial enrolment of 38 pupils.