Friday last was a gala day at Lilydale with the children attending the Lilydale State school. It was the day appointed by the Education Department for beautifying the school ground by the planting of English and other' European trees, and well did the children perform the pleasing task imposed on them. Money was collected for the purpose, and supplemented by generous donation of trees by many parents. The children were enabled to plant about a dozen trees.
After lunch time the children were gathered together by the head teacher, and addressed in a few appropriate words by him. By the unanimous wish of the children Miss Janet Somerville, one of the teachers, was asked to plant the first tree - a beautiful holly, presented by Mr N. Turner — which was done with three hearty cheers, which were repeated after the planting of each successive tree. Mr Stanley, the senior assistant, planted the second, a beautiful elm ; Miss Ida Arnold, a school girl, the third; then successive trees were planted by Masters Jas. Smith, Stanley Somerville, Lewis Miller, Mr Shanley, Master Willie Turner, his sister, Miss Janet Turner (two beautiful horse chestnuts), Master Wallace Shanley an ash, Miss Daisy Reeves, senior girl, a silver poplar, Masters Philip Somerville and Hugh Wilson an elm, and at the urgent request of the children the last two trees, an ash and silver poplar, were planted by Miss Simmons and Miss Peden, two lady visitors.
Some of the boys, the most prominent of whom were Masters Clarence Brooks, P. Somerville, A. Webster, David and Chas. Sulzberger, busied themselves protecting the trees by fences.
The remainder of the children set about heartily enjoying themselves, the elder boys by football, and the girls and younger boys by various picnic games, till about four o'clock, when they all started for home, thoroughly pleased with the day's outing.
ARBOR DAY (1902, July 30). Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928), p. 8. Retrieved January 3, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153819569
NOTE: Many of these people appear in a photo posted on Facebook today (4 Sept 2020) by Fran Williams www.facebook.com/groups/467853263384639/permalink/1571703846332903
It's interesting to realize how much biographical detail we may know about the people listed above:
Miss J. Somerville - Janet Somerville one of a family of nine, became Mrs. Henshilwood, of Mildura. A niece called Janet Henshilwood Somerville only lived to age 2 years and 2 months. A third Janet Somerville became a very respected teacher, naturalist and author.
Contact us if you want to know what we know of other people mentioned. They would not have thought so but they lived in a welll documented age, long before social media.