Arch and avenues history comes to life

A NEW children’s book is seeking to help Ballarat kids become Anzac history buffs.

Titled Three Thousand One Hundred and Eight Trees (and each one has a name) the book is Written by Naomi Irvin, illustrated by Liv Lorkin and funded by property developer Integra.

The book chronicles the Lucas Girls’ construction of both the Arch of Victory and the Avenue of Honour in commemoration of Australia’s World War One servicepeople.

Approved by both Eleanor Lucas’s descendant Bruce Price and Avenue of Honour committee president Garry Snowden, Irvin said the book aims to get kids interested in the history of the sites.

“The main purpose of it is to incite curiosity for young readers about those landmarks and to just be aware of how significant it is to Ballarat,” she said.

“It’s a picture book of about 34 pages, and it’s ideally for grade 4 students onward, and Liv has just done an amazing job at bringing those words to life.”

Much of the research was carried out by Irvin, who said Phil Roberts’ 2018 book, Avenue of Memories, provided “90 per cent” of the foundation when crafting the story.

The book will be officially launched during the Heritage Festival during late May.

Attendees include descendants, Avenue of Honour committee members, the creative team behind the book, and Integra’s community engagement coordinator Victoria Rushton said the event will provide the first opportunity to display the book.

“It’s a small celebration of the book where people who contributed to it can get their hands on it and see what it’s about,” she said.

“After that, it’ll be available for public purchase, and 100 per cent of the sales will go back to the Arch and the Avenue so they can continue doing what they do.”

From Friday, 27 May, the book will be available at Ivy and Coco, the Orchard Cafe, Integra’s land sales centre and the Arch View Cafe.

Primary schools can also receive copies by contacting either Mr Snowden from the Avenue of Honour at [email protected] or Integra at [email protected].