Lone Pine (tree)
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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. 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.
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[edit] The original "Lone Pine"
The original "Lone Pine" was a 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 during the battle. The tree was obliterated as a result of 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. The resultant seedlings were found to be Turkish Pines, sometimes regarded as a subspecies of Pinus halepensis (Aleppo Pine), but usually classified as a distinct species, Pinus brutia[1].
[edit] Tree at Lone Pine Cemetery, Gallipolli
At the Lone Pine Cemetery in Gallipolli, a solitary pine was planted in the 1920s to symbolise the original Lone Pine. This tree was inspected in 1987 by an Australian botanist and confirmed to be a Stone Pine (Pinus pinea.)
[edit] Trees in Australia
Sergeant Keith McDowell, an Australian soldier of the 24th battalion who fought at Gallipoli brought home a pine cone from the battle site to Australia. Many years later seeds from the cone were planted by his 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 (June 11, 1933), the Soldiers Memorial Hall at The Sisters near Terang (June 18, 1933) and Warrnambool Botanic Gardens (January 23, 1934).
The tree at the Shrine Reserve was planted near the north-east corner of the building by Lieutenant-General Sir Stanley Savige, founder of Melbourne Legacy at a formal ceremony.
Another soldier, Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith, from the 3rd Battalion also retrieved a cone from the battle site 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.
Both Melbourne Legacy and the Yarralumla Nursery in Canberra, have raised and grown a number of seedlings over a number of years, sourced from the tree at the Shrine of Remembrance and the Australian War Memorial respectively, which they have presented to schools as well as ex-service and other organizations throughout Australia.
[edit] Trees in New Zealand
Memorial trees have also been planted in Taradale Cemetery and King Edward Park in Stratford in New Zealand.
[edit] References
- ^ Spencer, R.D. (1995) Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia 1: 248-249 (University of NSW Press).
