On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, the City of Melbourne (CoM) has granted the Carlton Football Club permission to plant a Lone Pine tree on the grounds of Princes Park as a living reminder of its footballers who lost their lives in wartime.
A Lone Pine seedling was recently acquired by Carlton through the Australian War Memorial in Canberra via Yarralumla Nursery. The seedling, which is quite small and not yet ready for planting, is to be planted at a later date with the written permission of CoM’s Urban Landscapes Manager Ian Shears.
“It has been agreed that the seedling will remain the responsibility of the Club for the time being and that it may be used as part of the (wartime) commemorative ceremony at the Club this year,” Shears wrote.
“When the seedling is of sufficient height and root volume to be planted out in Princes Park . . . a council arborist will inspect the tree and assess if it meets the height, health, form and root development requirements needed for a successful planting in a public park.
“If these requirements are met, the tree will then become the responsibility of the City of Melbourne and be planted as part of our annual tree planting program. After planting, the tree will be planted as an asset by the City of Melbourne.”
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The seedling was temporarily placed at the base of a stone memorial to the 16 Carlton players killed in both World Wars, at a ceremony at the ground this morning.
Carlton Captain Marc Murphy was afforded the honour of accepting the seedling from Warrant Officer Chris Macer and placing it at the memorial, which was unveiled during the ceremony attended by the Carlton President, CEO, Senior Coach and all staff and players.
Those VIPs also in attendance for the ceremony were;
Warrant Officer Adam Hodges, who recited the Ode of Remembrance;
Chad Nash, the great nephew of 10-game former Carlton footballer Fenley McDonald, killed on the day of the Gallipoli Landing almost 100 years to the day – April 25, 1915; and
Joan Schinner, the daughter of 1938 Carlton Premiership player Jim Park, killed in action in Wau, New Guinea, on February 9, 1943.
Mr Nash and Mrs Schinner were called upon to unveil the memorial stone.
The Lone Pine or Aleppo Pine boasts a long Middle Eastern heritage. It is mentioned in the Bible and is one of the earliest known sources of turpentine.
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It is a conical tree becoming rounded with age and has red-brown scaly bark. Blue-green shoots appear in spring followed by slender, sparse bright green leaves that are 6-11cm long . long, oval red-brown female cones 5-12cm long appear in summer.
The origins of the Lone Pine’s Australian symbolism can be sourced to August 6, 1915 when the 1st Australian Infantry Division launched a major offensive at Plateau 400 at Gallipoli, Turkey. The ridges were once clothed with the Aleppo Pine, however they had been cut down to cover and line trenches, leaving one solitary pine. Hence it became known as Lone Pine Ridge. In the three days of fighting the ANZACs lost 2000 men and the Turks’ losses were estimated at 7000.
Lance Corporal Benjamin Charles Smith of the 3rd Battalion sent back several cones to his mother in Invernell, New South Wales. Mrs McMullen sowed some of the seeds some 13 years later. Two seedlings were grown and one was presented to the town of Inverell. The duke of Gloucester planted the second tree at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Sgt Keith McDowell of the 24th Battalion brought back a pinecone and gave it to his aunt, Mrs Emma Gray, of Warrnambool. Four seedlings were grown and planted at several Shrines of Remembrance in Victoria.
In 1990, two trees were taken back to Gallipoli by war veterans who attended the memorial service that marked the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Lone Pine Ridge.
Yarralumla Nursery propagates these trees from seed collected from the tree at the Australian War Memorial. These are made available throughout the year to RSL branches, schools, rural landowners and other organisations like the Carlton Football Club seeking them for ceremonial purposes.
