Many people walk past Narooma School of Arts Hall (the Kinema) each day but few notice the Honour Rolls listing the town’s ‘lads who donned khaki’ in the First World War, but Narooma Historical Society is about to change that.
‘Five of us in the Society are working on a special two week exhibition in November to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War and the declaration of Peace,’ said Society President Laurelle Pacey.
‘Half the exhibition will put faces and stories to the names listed.
‘Sylvia Gauslaa and I would like to talk with anyone related to those listed on the Honour Rolls. We can get only so much from their service records in the National Archives; families might be able to supply so much more, such as photos, particularly in uniform, and any information about what they did after the War, including marriage, kids, job, where they lived, when they died.’
The Hall was built as the district’s war memorial. Names are also listed on www.warmemorialsregister.nsw.gov.au/content/narooma-soldiers-memorial-school-arts.
The rest of the exhibition will be about what happened in the area during the war, including its impact on local industries, recruitment drives, fundraising to pay for the War, as well as the aftermath locally, including the influenza epidemic.
The Society is also looking to borrow lockable display cabinets for the exhibition to display various memorabilia.
Please ring either Sylvia Gauslaa (0415 293 198) or Laurelle Pacey (0409 761 582) if you can help in any way.
Above: Narooma Historical Society’s Sylvia Gauslaa and Laurelle Pacey ask district families to please help them put faces and stories behind the names on Narooma’s First World War Honour Rolls.
