Preparations are underway to upgrade the Leonard T Green Memorial Park in the City of Greater Geraldton, Western Australia, by planting 139 Lone Pine trees, descendants of the Gallipoli Tree that gave its name to the battle in 1915.
The Lone Pine trees being grown for the park are part of a two-year joint project between the City of Greater Geraldton’s Community Nursery Volunteers and Parks Team staff who have been working together to propagate and cultivate the trees.
Seeds for the trees were collected from a specimen at Binnu Primary School, a direct progeny of the Lone Pine from Gallipoli.
Mayor, Shane Van Styn said the trees would be a fitting addition to the Memorial Park which helps preserve the memory of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought in Gallipoli during World War One.
“Our Lone Pine saplings are direct descendants of the solitary pine tree, the sole survivor of a group of trees on the Gallipoli peninsula that had been cut down by Turkish soldiers who used the timber and branches to cover their trenches during the 1915 Battle of Lone Pine in WW1.
“Even though that tree, fittingly named the Lone Pine, was obliterated during the battle, some of its pine cones were saved, sent to Australia by Gallipoli soldiers and their seeds have since generated further Lone Pine trees including the one planted at Binnu Primary School.”
The Lone Pine Project began shortly after the Memorial Park was officially opened in 2018. Once all 139 saplings have grown onto small trees – one tree representing each of the area’s residents who fought in the war – they will be planted in the park.
