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Lone PinesPrint Page 
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: | Young & High Streets, Beauty Park , Frankston, 3199 |
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| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -38.148513 Long: 145.121237 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Trees |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW1 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 04-August-1914 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 28-June-1919 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Sunday 10th April, 2016 |
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Frankston City
These lone pine trees were planted on the occasion of the unveiling and dedication ceremony on Sunday 10 April 2016 by The Honourable Bruce Billson MP, Federal Member for Dunkley Cr james Dooley, Mayor of the Frankston City and Mr Kevin Hillier, President of Frankston RSL
Lone Pine of Plateau 400 at Gallipoli was the scene of a major diversity offensive launched by the 1st Australian Infantry Division of the 6th August 1915. Turkish soldiers had cut down all but one of the trees that clothed the ridge to cover their trenches. The ridge dominated by a single Allepo (sic) Pine ( Pinus Halepensis) became known as Lone Pine. These Lone Pines are descendents of this tree through the propagation of seeds from the original seedling from the cone sent home by Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith of the 3rd Battalion and planted by the Duke of Gloucester in October 1934 at the Australian War Memorial.
