Volunteers from Barkly Highway State School, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, St Kieran’s Catholic Primary School, Good Shepherd Catholic College and Mount Isa State Special School all took part in the project. 

Principal of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Helen Wade, said the concept came to the schools from Father Mick Lowcock and RSL treasurer Stephen Carrington. 

“Steve had identified that there are 237 graves in the Mount Isa cemetery that belonged to returned service personnel, and they need maintaining and acknowledgement,” Ms Wade said. 

“The first part of the project was doing some research, and that was the hard part, but it was very interesting for the kids to get international archives and see all of that information.”

One student from each school presented the story of a digger at the Mount Isa Anzac services, giving those attending a personal insight into the lives of those lost during the wars. 

Mount Isa State Special School student Rowena Webb said visiting the graves was a good experience.

“We followed a map to the graves and we took photos,” Miss Webb said. 

She said that visiting the graves wasn’t sad, because the students were there to fix them and learn about the Anzacs. 

RSL Treasurer Stephen Carrington said restoring the graves meant honouring the legacy of the Anzacs. 

“We all know about the heroes who made the supreme sacrifice overseas, but we’re forgetting about the heroes that came back to their hometowns and died,” Mr Carrington said. 

“You see a lot of kids at schools in Belgium and France maintaining the Australian graves, so why not do it in your own town?” 

He said that researching some of the early graves in Mount Isa proved difficult as many families of the fallen soldiers had left town. 

“If there’s anyone out there who has information on their loved ones, bring it forward and let us know,” Mr Carrington said. 

Anyone with information about Anzacs from the region can contact RSL Mount Isa by emailing them at mountisa@rslqld.org.