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Lone PinePrint Page Print this page

25-May-2009 (Diane Watson)
25-May-2009 (Diane Watson)

Photographs supplied by Diane Watson / Sandra Brown

The Pine tree commemorates those who have served in the various conflicts in whcih Australia has been involved.

The Lone Pine was the name given to a solitary tree on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, which marked the site of the Battle of Lone Pine in 1915 during World War One and it was the sole survivor of a group of trees that had been cut down by Turkish soldiers who had used the timber and branches to cover their trenches.

The tree was obliterated during the battle; however, pine cones that had remained attached to the cut branches over the trenches were retrieved by two Australian soldiers and brought home to Australia. Private Thomas Keith McDowell, a soldier of the 23rd Battalion brought a pine cone from the battle site back to Australia, and many years later seeds from the cone were planted by his wife's aunt Emma Gray of Grassmere, near Warrnambool, Victoria and five seedlings emerged, with four surviving. These seedlings were planted in four different locations in Victoria: Wattle Park (May 8, 1933), the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne (June 11, 1933), the Soldiers Memorial Hall at The Sisters near Terang (June 18, 1933) and Warrnambool Botanic Gardens (January 23, 1934).

The Shrine of Remembrance's lone pine was felled in August 2012 and the timber used as part of a remembrance project, after a disease known as Diplodia pinea or blue stains fungus as it commonly called killed it.

Another soldier, Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith from the 3rd Battalion, also retrieved a cone and sent it back to his mother (Mrs McMullen) in Australia, who had lost another son at the battle. Seeds from the cone were planted by Mrs McMullen in 1928, from which two seedlings were raised. One was presented to her home town of Inverell (New South Wales) and the other was forwarded to Canberra where it was planted by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester at the Australian War Memorial in October 1934.

Location

Address:Passage & North Streets, ANZAC Park, Cleveland, 4163
State:QLD
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -27.525351
Long: 153.279666
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Tree
Monument Theme:Conflict
Sub-Theme:Multiple

Dedication

Front Inscription

Plaque :

The Gallipoli "Lone Pine"

Lone Pine or Plateau 400 was the scene of a major diversionary offensive launched by the 1st Australian Infantry Division on 6 August 1915.

The battle raged on a heavily fortified Turkish trench position dominated by a single Allepo Pine (Pinus halopensis) which became known as Lone Pine.

The six Australian Battalions involved lost 80 officers and 2197 men in the battle for Lone Pine. Seven Victoria Crosses were earned over 2.5 days of  some of the fiercest hand-to-hand combat performed by Australians in World War One.

The tree is the 2nd generation direct descendant of that immortal "Lone Pine" and serves as a living reminder of not only the sacrifice and courage of those Australians who fought and died in this horrific battle but for all Australians who endured and sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we enjoy.
          
Lest We Forget

Plaque :

Aleppo Pine

Descendant of the original Lone Pine of Gallipoli

Presented by Legacy

Lest We Forget

 

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au