On Thursday 14th August 2025, the NSW Department of Education, together with the Lysicrates Foundation, have organised the third Annual Children’s Walk from Martin Place, where the statue of the 12-year-old James Martin striding off to school looks down over the grand boulevard named by Henry Parkes after the boy who braved bushrangers and the dark of night, to Parramatta Square, where a twin of that statue stands in front of the Civic Centre.
On that day, at 8 am, in the presence of Premier Chris Minns, Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman and other dignitaries, over 20 students will set off, taking as close a route as possible to the one Martin himself would have followed.
When they arrive at Parramatta Square, they will be greeted by the Chief Justice of NSW, Andrew Bell, and given a commemorative medal and a certificate.
How very appropriate it is, once again, that the Walk is bookended by Martin’s two present-day successors, Premier Chris Minns and Chief Justice Andrew Bell.