There are some multiple-generation families in Lismore and the Northern Rivers, and Hoskins is one of them. Arriving into the area in the 1870s, ask anyone in Wyrallah about the Hoskins and they will tell you of their strong roots to the area.

Yesterday, Wyrallah Public School honoured Fred Hoskins by naming the Fred Hoskins Library and unveiling a plaque.

Surrounded by former and current students and teachers, as well as family members, Principal Lisa Fahy led proceedings by sharing some information "About my friend Fred Hoskins".

"As you all know, Fred is a simple man, simply extraordinary. He first made his journey to Wyrallah Public School on horseback, I believe, 85 years ago. So, who could have imagined that 85 years later, he would still be such an important and ongoing active participant in our school and our community? What an awesome achievement just in that."

Lisa described Fred as the unofficial Mayor of Wyrallah due to his popularity and lifespan at the school.

"He's been a man of many hats, as we know over the years. He's been a dairy farmer, a steel worker, a Lifeline counsellor, a builder, truck driver, soldier and singer. He's made a musical CD, he sings on it, been engaged with environmental projects, just so many things. But, the element that brings into our hearts and our attention here today is his unwavering love for education and our community.

"That love helps bring the education to all of our students here. He's inspired generations of students over the years. He has come and shared his stories with students. So, in terms of oral history, Fred, as we all know, is a walking encyclopaedia. You could fact check him on anything, you could ask him about anything, and you'll he'll be able to instantly recall and tell you a story. And if you checked it, it's correct."

Incredibly, Fred's memory was put to the test on his recent 90th birthday celebrations. Lisa was shown a photo of Fred in his class of 1949. She then asked Fred if he could remember any of his classmate's names.

"Without pause, he said the name of every person, first name, second name, and every person in row, and he could remember stories about each one. Every single person from a photo in 1949. I didn't bother fact-checking because I know I didn't need to."

Fred was honoured with the naming of the Fred Hoskins Library because of his passion for learning.

(Fred, his wife of 65 years Olwyn, Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin, family, friends, teachers and students from Wyrallah Public School celebrating the naming of the Fred Hoskins Library)

"He lives and breathes lifelong learning. He is active every day of his life. He does it with kindness and wisdom, and he lives a purpose-driven life," Lisa told the crowd, "A lot of people don't know some of the impact. I know that through the Covid, Covid Flood, as I call it here, Fred has been supporting people in the community, and no one knows about it, except very few people, because he doesn't do it for attention. His altruism is extraordinary.

"I know we've worked together on a number of projects to support people that no one else knows about, except the individual recipient, a recipient who's never made to feel anything any lesser, but they know that they're part of the community by receiving it. It's been done beautifully.

"So, Fred has a life and a legacy, and an impact that is beyond anybody, I think, in our community has been able to show. But we all show it together because we are part of Fred, too. We contribute, we support, we acknowledge, and so every person here is such an important element.

"Fred, thank you for your amazing contributions. We will be forever grateful for your presence, involvement, compassion, dedication, and commitment."

Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said to the gathering of family, friends and students, "You are the school, and you do believe in education, particularly in public education and the Wyrallah Public School. You've made a difference in all the children's lives, but also the families and the community members."

(Janelle Saffin and Fred Hoskins after unveiling the new plaque)

When it was time for Fred Hoskins to speak, he said he was very humbled by the occasion.

"What I've done throughout my life is only just something that I felt. I saw a need, and I followed up on that need.

"With regard to my education. It started with my parents before I went to school. And then, when I came to school, it was my teacher who began this learning process and filled in a lot of the gaps that I had. He was a chap called Clement Victor Hardy. Hardy by name, Hardy by nature.

"The children now don't know anything about corporal punishment, and I learned quite a bit about it. But, I never, ever held any grudge against my teacher because my father was a disciplinarian, and he said, If you've done something wrong, well, you cop the punishment. And that was a learning process if you had enough sense. If you did something wrong, you got the cane about it, and well, you made damn sure you didn't do that again.

"He used to read to us wonderful stories, like Wind In The Willows, Martin Rattler, The Dog Crusoe, so many various stories, and your imagination just went wild when that was happening. You just became part of the story. And it's not like today, where you have a machine that you look at, and it tells you or shows you how you should respond, whereas your imagination was everything. And through that imagination, you began to learn wonderful things.

"Then we had poems. Poems for Longfellow, 'The Slaves Dream', 'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes, and 'The Inchcape Rock' by Robert Southey. They were the ones that stuck in my mind. They fired up your imagination, and you got a greater understanding of, particularly with the older poems, the tragedies and the stories that they were able to portray."

Fred talked about the school library when he was a student, and the book that influenced his life the most was King Of The Golden River by John Ruskin.

"It was a secular book with religious undertones, but it was about a little boy called Gluck. He had two brothers, and they were rather nasty and they treated him badly. But at the end of the whole story, their mean-spiritedness and their nastiness caused their demise, and his compassion and kindness triumphed in the end. It was an absolutely beautiful story.

90-year-old Fred Hoskins had some words of wisdom for the current students.

"No matter what you do, it's, it's important that you create friendships. As I said at my birthday party, I have defied Murphy's Law. Murphy's Law says, 'Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate'. Well, I've done the opposite of that. My enemies, well, I don't know whether I've ever had any, but I know I've got lots of friends and friendships and love. Okay, love is probably the most important. St Paul said, if you haven't got love, nothing else counts. So that's what I would say; I love each and every one in a very special way, not a lovey-dovey way, but just a compassionate and deep friendship. And I thank you all for that.

"I am much honoured by today. Thank you so much."

You can't but think that the world needs more Fred Hoskins.

(Fred Hoskins answering students' questions about his time as a Wyrallah Public School student.)