For what veterans did, this is what Ky P-12 students do

By Jemma Jones

Apr 29, 2025

Lancaster Rd is pretty fast at 100km/h, but slowing down and pulling over when you pass the Kyabram Cemetery will be worth it over the next week.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Veterans buried at the Kyabram Cemetery were honoured by Kyabram P-12 College staff and students on Thursday, April 24 in an Anzac Day eve ceremony.

The project, aptly named ‘For What They Did, This We Do’, headed by community connections co-ordinator Janine Kreymborg, had students clean each veteran’s gravestone at the cemetery and place flags beside them.

The result? Hundreds of Australian flags fluttering in the breeze, visible to travellers passing by, and a scene of pride and community strength.

The ceremony attended by a crowd of 50 filled with Kyabram P-12 staff and students, RSL and Legacy members, and business owners who each contributed to the project in their own way.

Project organiser Janine Kreymborg. Photo by Jemma Jones

Mrs Kreymborg said she was proud of the students for what they achieved over the past few months.

“There’s something quite powerful about wandering through a cemetery,” she said.

“The stillness, the carved names and dates, the little stories you can piece together — it’s like walking through a garden of memory.”

Visitors were invited to walk around the cemetery to see what stories they could uncover and the memories they could evoke.

For Peter Fitzgerald it was a memory of Maurie Wood, a former mayor of Kyabram Council for whom Mr Fitzgerald’s wife worked as a secretary.

Clive Toms, front right, watches the service. Photo by Jemma Jones

“He served in the air force and was in the Lancaster Bombers at the time ... great guy,” he said.

“Coming across his grave was special.”

Kyabram RSL secretary and treasurer Bob Stone spoke to Kyabram P-12 students before the service and said he was “incredibly moved” by the project.

“It is a humbling sight — a reminder of sacrifice, service and the unbreakable bonds of mateship.”

Kyabram P-12 College principal Marina Walsh said it took many hands to get the project finished, including support from community members and businesses.

Kyabram Steel donated the sheets of steel for students to make the flag holders, and Kyabram Paint and Panel offered its services and resources to paint the flag holders.

Bunnings Echuca donated supplies for the students to clean the graves of each veteran, and Greenham’s and Kyabram Club donated additional money, which went towards the purchase of the flags.

“It wasn’t just a couple of days or weeks — this took months to do,” Ms Walsh said.

“We’re part of the community, and it’s great we can work with the community like that.”