Relief of the Siege of MafekingPrint Page

The tree commemorates the relief of Mafeking during the South African (Boer) War.  The original plaque on the tree was stolen in 2020 and a replacement plaque was erected in proximity to the tree.  

The original plaque wording was :

Relief of Mafeking

This tree was planted by the people of Lilydale on 13th June 1900

To commemorate the gallant & successful defence of Mafeking, South Africa by Colonel Baden-Powell and his brave garrison during a siege by the Boers extending over a period of 209 days.

Exegit Monumentum - Aere Perennius

The Siege of Mafeking was the most famous British action in the Second Boer War. It took place at the town of Mafeking (now Mahikeng) in South Africa over a period of 217 days, from October 1899 to May 1900, and turned Robert Baden-Powell, who went on to found the Scouting Movement, into a national hero. The Relief of Mafeking (the lifting of the siege) was a decisive victory for the British and a crushing defeat for the Boers.

The fourth anniversary of Arbor Day was celebrated at Lilydale on Wednesday, when about fifty trees were planted in Castella Street. During the afternoon about 600 people turned out to witness the tree planting. At half-past one o`clock Mrs Smith, wife of Councillor W.H. Smith, president of the Lilydale Shire Council, planted the first tree, a beautiful oak, in the centre of the Lilydale public park in the commemoration of the Relief of Mafeking. An iron fence is erected around the tree, with a brass plate affixed, bearing the following inscription: " Relief of Mafeking. This tree was planted by the people of Lilydale on 13th June, 1900, to celebrate the gallnat and successful defence of Mafeking, South Africa by Colonel Baden Powell and his brave garrison during the siege by the Boers extending over a period of 209 days. Exegit monumentum aere perennius." 
Argus (Melbourne), 14 June 1900.

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