Special cohort of Tasmanian students ready to walk through school gates, side-by-side

There are few occasions in parenthood to rival the significance of a child’s first day at school – but the milestone is particularly meaningful for those with twins and triplets.

Front – Cormac and Vincent Cowen, Hugh and Lachie Seville and Toby and Alexander Hayes. Back – Winter and Willow Wrigley and Oscar and Remi Lee at Royal Botanical Gardens Tasmania are twins starting school in 2025. Picture: Caroline Tan

There are few occasions in family life to rival the significance and sheer excitement of a child’s first day at school.

But with thousands of Tasmanian parents preparing to walk their youngsters into the classroom for the first time later this week, extra layers of emotion are brewing in the households of “multiple” families.

Tasmanian Multiple Birth Association spokesperson, Louise Koen, said the school milestone was particularly meaningful for parents of twins and triplets, because it represented years of successfully overcoming additional challenges, which often began in pregnancy.

Winter Wrigley, Willow Wrigley, Remi Lee and Oscar Lee at Royal Botanical Gardens Tasmania are twins starting school in 2025. Picture: Caroline Tan

As the volunteer-run group gathered in Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens on Saturday for a final catch-up before the school year starts, Ms Koen said members provided each other with invaluable support and understanding dealing with all aspects of multiple parenting.

“Even before our kids are born, we’re set up with a lot of challenges,” Ms Koen said.

“It costs parents five times as much to have twins, and seven times to have triplets.

“You need a specialised pram to carry two or three babies, two cots, and when school starts there are the uniforms, shoes, and other supplies.

“Having multiples can also be quite isolating, so it is great to have an event like this to just celebrate the win of coming this far to and the kids into kinder.”

Ms Koen said TasMBA knew of 19 sets of twins in Tasmania’s south, and another four in the north, that were beginning school this year.

Hobart mum Stevee Savill said her twin sons, Hugh and Lachlan, were nothing but excited to be finally joining their older brother as students at St Aloysius Catholic College in Kingston Beach.

Hugh and Lachie Seville at Royal Botanical Gardens Tasmania are twins starting school in 2025. Picture: Caroline Tan

“It’s their turn to be big boys, and they are both super keen to sink their teeth into it,” Ms Savill said.

“Being a parent of twins certainly comes with its trials and tribulations.

“We already had a three-year-old when they arrived, so we were outnumbered.

“And we had to be ready for anything, because one would run east and the other would run west, and at any point you would have to work out who was the bigger flight risk.

“No one knows what twins are like unless you have them, but for all the tough times, there are also amazingly beautiful moments that we just live for.”

Megan Lee said her twins, daughter Remi and son Oscar, could not wait to begin kindergarten at Holy Rosary Catholic School this week.

Ms Lee said the connections her family had built within the TasMBA community had paid valuable dividends over the past few years.

“Especially with other mums with multiples around the same age as mine, I have been able to bounce around ideas with, and talk about our kids going through the same phases together,” she said.

“It was just great to get out of the house, and meet people who knew exactly what I was going through.”

Originally published as Special cohort of Tasmanian students ready to walk through school gates, side-by-side