Narrogin’s combined schools Anzac service reflects on stories of peace without formal involvement of RSL

St Mathews Primary School hosted Narrogin’s combined schools Anzac service at Memorial Park last week — the first time the service has been held without the guidance of the local RSL sub-branch. Narrogin’s five schools came together to pay their respects to service members past and present on April 6. The service involved students from East Narrogin Primary School, St Matthews Primary School, Narrogin Primary School, Narrogin Senior High School and the WA College of Agriculture — Narrogin. This was the first year the combined school service had gone ahead without the formal involvement of the local RSL sub-branch, after the announcement of the Narrogin RSL’s closure last week. Despite the sub-branch closing, secretary Lorraine Larment attended the service and laid a wreath on behalf of the Narrogin RSL. The theme of the service was stories of peace keeping. St Mathews Primary School principal Mark Tenney said the theme gave students an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of Anzac Day. “The theme of the service was stories of peace keeping and so that was pretty special,” he said. “A lot of students presented a short reflection, speeches and stories based on that theme. “It just happened to be very relevant to this year and it was a great opportunity for the students to reflect on what Anzac Day means in the past, present and future.” The guest speaker was Narrogin veteran Neill Dorset who serviced in the Royal New Zealand Navy, the police force and has worked as a security manager at WA Parliament House. Bugler Emily Ballantyne returned to her home town to play the Last Post at the service.