It is full of lots of historical information not recorded anywhere else. It tells the story of the Lemnos Primary School, as well as of the Lemnos township, recounting the working and social life of the town and its people.
It recounts the establishment of the township as a Soldier Settlement in 1919-20. It tells of the first settlers, amongst them many Anzacs who had served at Gallipoli and of the famous Ernie Hill, who had proposed the name of the new settlement as Lemnos.
It contains many reminiscences of the settlers, of the hard times at the beginning as the farms were being established by the ex-soldiers in their spare time - as they had to work in neighboring farms to feed themselves and their families.
It also tells of the various migrant families who arrived in the district - from the 1930's but mostly after the war - and how's children were educated in the local Primary School. Some of the Hellenic background families included the Damianopoulos, Giankos, Kalafatis, Michalaidis, Alabakis, Kiriacos, Pateros, Papoulis, Christou families - as well as other migrant families whose children attended the school.
The booklet records the achievements of the Lemnos Football Club and other sporting clubs established in the township.
This booklet serves to remind us all of the link between Lemnos, Gallipoli and Anzac - and Australia. It provides evidence of the strong impression Lemnos left with those visiting diggers in 1915 and of the many Hellenic migrant families who settled in this little corner of Victoria, called Lemnos.
Thanks to Barrie Hill (Ernie Hill's son) for alerting me to this great publication and to Ms Jenny Kop of Lemnos Primary School for providing this amazing booklet.
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