Honour Box to go home

The Society is excited to have been part of the tale about an Honour Box returning to its home.

We have an Honour Box in our collection, and a copy of the book that it contained, issued at the end of World War I, recording all Victorian Teachers who served.

This is our box, one of the commercially produced type.

When the Valencia Creek school closed in 1951 as part of the amalgamation that formed Boisdale Consolidated School, the book and box remained in the vacant building.

When the vacant building was moved to Bairnsdale (in the 1960s?) to use at the first Nowyeung in Grant Street, there was still no interest in the box and its book, so the relocation contractors kept it, rather than see it thrown out.

They have now handed it to the East Gippsland Historical Society at Bairnsdale, who in turn passed it to us, in the hope that we would know where it should be most appropriately placed.

It did not take a lot of thought. The Valencia Creek Soldiers Memorial Hall, which was built next to the school after WWI, was the only option we were prepared to consider. It will be returned as close as possible to its original home in the near future.

The box itself is interesting, apparently a locally made option, much more vernacular than the commercial options usually found. (It is actually quite square - blame the photographer for the list!)

Does anyone have any knowledge of other examples of these boxes, especially any that are different again?











The assistance of the East Gippsland Historical Society in the return of this valuable item to its original home is much appreciated.