War Memorials

• They gave their all. Let you who pass, saluting here their names, see that through you no slur, nor stain, nor shame falls on the land for which they gave their lives - Australia.

The Avenue of Honour Memorial Arch Ballarat Victoria with the trees in the background.

1. Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith of the 3rd Battalion whose brother was killed in the battle for Lone Pine Ridge sent a cone home to his mother, Mrs McMullen at Inverell in New South Wales. Mrs McMullen kept the cone for 13 years until 1928 before planting the seeds. 

She grew two seedlings, one of which she presented to the town of Inverell and the other to the Parks and Gardens section of the Department of the Interior in Canberra. The Duke of Gloucester planted this second tree at the Australian War Memorial in October 1934. Today it stands over 20 metres in height. >>>

2. Sgt Keith McDowell of the 24th Battalion carried a pinecone in his haversack until the end of the war. Upon returning home to Australia he gave it to his Aunt Mrs Emma Gray, who lived at Grassmere near Warrnambool Victoria. A decade or so later Mrs Gray planted the seeds and four seedlings were grown. 

One was planted in May 1933 in Wattle Park, Melbourne. Another at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne and another at the Soldiers Memorial Hall at The Sisters. The last was planted in the Warrnambool Gardens.

Seedlings and seeds of the Lone Pine tree are available to certain Community Groups such as Schools, RSL Clubs etc

It is claimed that the tree at the Lone Pine Memorial Gallipoli is from the seeds brought home to Australia and propagated.

This committee was made up largely of wives and mothers who were members of a group called the Pleystowe Knitting Circle.

The committee was formed in 1943 from a public meeting at the Pleystowe School of Arts Hall and its main aims was to provide support and raise funds for servicemen from the Pleystowe district. During the the War of 1939-1945, the committee provided food parcels for the servicemen from the area. On their return from the war, a small sum of cash was given to the servicemen to help them re-establish civilian life.

At the end of the war, the committee decided to erect a memorial to those who died during the 1939-1945 War. Any remaining funds were distributed among the returned servicemen. The memorial project consisted of planting an avenue of trees along Eungella Road and labelling each one with a particular serviceman's name. 

Nine trees were purchased in January 1948 and were dedicated on Anzac Day 25 April 1948. The original nameplates were timber. They were replaced by a white metal board with black lettering in a star picket at an undisclosed date. In 1996 these nameplates were replaced with black wooden framed plaques with white lettering which were fixed to the trees.

Each Anzac Day the local RSL Sub-branch and local families place wreaths at each tree. This tradition has continued annually since 1948.

Laurel leaves a family tradition 22.04.2004 By JO-MARIE BROWN

On a rural farm tucked away in the hills behind Gisborne, New Zealand several generations of the Mossman family will gather today to honour an Anzac Day tradition.  An evergreen hedge of laurel leaves has stood behind the family's home at Waerenga-o-kuri for more than 80 years and was planted in memory of three Mossman brothers who died in World War I.

And every year without fail the family has plucked thousands of leaves from the hedge to adorn Anzac Day wreaths for the Gisborne region. "Laurel leaves have traditionally been used for these sorts of wreaths for hundreds of years," Jenny Mossman said.

"We've never missed a single Anzac Day service and picking the laurel leaves beforehand has just become a real family affair." Volunteers from the local RSA, schools and rugby clubs have dwindled in recent times so today Charlotte, 7, and Lucy, 5, will join their parents, Kim and Kate Mossman, and their grandmother, Mrs Mossman, for the day's picking. "We fill a big sack each year which doesn't sound like much but it's quite a mission because you can't use any leaves that have holes or marks on them. The florist only wants the perfect ones," Mrs Mossman said.

From 776BC onwards, the Greeks crowned their Olympic champions with wreaths of laurel leaves while Romans used them to honour their generals. Nowadays, laurel leaves are regarded as a symbol of victory and peace and RSA spokesman Bill Hopper said they have always been the first choice for Anzac Day wreaths.

"Everywhere you go on Sunday you'll see laurel leaves being used," Mr Hopper said. "They're evergreen and remembrance is evergreen. That's what Anzac Day wreaths are all about. "I think it's wonderful to hear that generation after generation of one family has kept up such a marvellous tradition." 

• Some of the memorials in France allow for individual, short term tributes. 

• This one was placed at the Villers Bretonneux Memorial for me by Judith Lappin, Hon Sec of the Machine Gun Corps Old Comrades Association (UK).

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