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The pine tree was planted in memory of those who served in the Gallipoli campaign in World War One. Pines which are planted as a memorial to the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought in Gallipoli are also known as "Lone Pines" or "Gallipoli Pines", referencing the original tree.
The monument which tells the Lone Pine story was funded by the ANZAC Centenary Grants Program and unveiled in 2015 in front of the tree. The original unveiling plaque has been placed at the back of the tree on a stone wall.
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).
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.
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.
Melbourne Legacy and the Yarralumla Nursery in Canberra have grown seedlings sourced from the trees at the Shrine of Remembrance and the Australian War Memorial respectively, which they have presented to schools as well as ex-service and other organisations throughout Australia.
Location
| Address: | 19 Herriot Street , Camp Hill Historic Precinct , Heathcote, 3523 |
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| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -36.922784 Long: 144.707311 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Tree |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW1 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 04-August-1914 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 28-June-1919 |
| Link: | http://www.dva.gov.au/consultation-… |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Wednesday 25th April, 2007 |
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Plaque :
The Story Of The Lone Pine
The Pine Tree Growing Here Represents Part Of The History Woven In The ANZAC Story. On August 6, 1915, During The Batlle Of Lone Pine At Gallipoli, One Of The Many Australian Soldiers To Fall Was Pte. Mark Smith, 4th Battalion. His Brother, L/Cpl Benjamin Smith, 3rd Battalion Later Found A Pine Cone On The Ridge And Sent It Home. In 1934 His Mother Presented A Tree Grown From One Of The Seeds To The Australian War Memorial In Order To Honour All Sons Lost In The Battle At Lone Pine. This Pine Is Descended From That Tree.
Total Casualties Were Australians 2277
Turkish 6930
Lest We Forget
Plaque:
This Pine Tree Propagated By Seed From
The Original "Lone Pine" At Gallipoli
Was Planted As A Memorial To All Those
Who Served And Died There In 1915.
Lest We Forget
25th April, 2007
