Book on Avenue of Honour released for Remembrance Day

THERE are 3801 names of former servicemen and women on the plaques at the foot of the trees on Ballarat’s Avenue of Honour.

How do you choose who to write about in only 30 pages?

Retired school principal Phil Roberts spent some of the last six years solving this quandary and many more while writing his book Avenue of Memories.

Mr Roberts said, “Basically it is a hundredyear history of the Avenue and the Arch, the story of the planning the Avenue from 1917 to 1919, then the Arch being put up in 1920.”

Approached by the Arch of Victory – Avenue of Honour Committee six years ago to write a history of the Arch and the Avenue to coincide with the centenary of Armistice Day, Mr Roberts author of 17 books wrote it while undertaking a doctorate at Federation University.

Mr Roberts just met the deadline with the books coming of the press last week.

“Archival images from a booklet produced for the opening in 1920 of the Arch and pictures from the Max Harris collection are a feature of the book,” said Mr Roberts.

The important role the Lucas girls – sewing machinists employed by Lucas Textile Company instrumental in fund raising for the Arch and the Avenue during WWI – are detailed in two of the ten chapters.

Ballarat’s new suburb Lucas, on the south side of the Avenue of Honour, is named after company founder Eleanor Lucas who established the business in 1898.

“In Ballarat there is quite a strong body of people who are very conscious of commemorating the service people and through the very powerful Avenue of Honour committee word went out and 300 plus turned up for the launch [last week] by City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh,” said Mr Roberts.

“It’s a much broader book than just a narrow history of one particular set of trees, it would make an ideal Christmas present.”

A limited edition – each one numbered – the coffee-table style hard-cover book filled with historical, archival and original photographs by Creswick photographer Terry Hope is priced at $50.

The book is currently available at the Phoenix Customer Service Centre in Armstrong Street, the Ballarat Mechanic’s Institute on Sturt Street and Collins on Lydiard book shop.