Lone Pine (tree)
Encyclopedia
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, which marked the site of the Battle of Lone Pine
Battle of Lone Pine
The Battle of Lone Pine was a battle between Australian and Turkish forces that took place during the Gallipoli campaign from 6–10 August 1915. It was part of a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, which became...
in 1915. Pines which are planted as a memorial to the Australian and New Zealand soldiers
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial...
who fought in Gallipoli are also known as "Lone Pines" or "Gallipoli Pines", referencing the original tree.
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 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. The resultant seedlings were found to be Turkish PineTurkish Pine
Pinus brutia, the Turkish pine, is a pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but it also extends to the East Aegean Islands of Greece, the Crimea, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, western Syria, Lebanon, and Cyprus...
s, sometimes regarded as a subspecies of Pinus halepensis (Aleppo Pine
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
), but usually classified as a distinct species, Pinus brutia.
Tree at Lone Pine Cemetery, Gallipoli
At the Lone Pine CemeteryLone Pine Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Lone Pine Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery dating from World War I in the former ANZAC sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey and the location of the Lone Pine Memorial, one of five memorials on the peninsula which commemorate servicemen of the former British Empire...
on the Gallipoli peninsula, 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
Stone Pine
The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
(Pinus pinea).
Trees in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. 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
Wattle Park, Melbourne
Wattle Park is a public park in Melbourne, Australia, located in the suburb of Burwood. It is known for its plantation of 12,000 wattle trees. It is currently maintained by Parks Victoria....
(May 8, 1933), the Shrine of Remembrance
Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war...
(June 11, 1933), the Soldiers Memorial Hall at The Sisters near Terang
Terang, Victoria
Terang is a small Australian town situated in Corangamite Shire in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, on the Princes Highway 212 km south-west of the state's capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Terang had a population of 2256...
(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
Inverell, New South Wales
Inverell is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands. It has a temperate climate...
. New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and the other was forwarded to Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
where it was planted by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was a soldier and member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary....
at the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
(AWM) in October 1934. The AWM lone pine lost two of its large lower limbs from strong winds preceding a thunderstorm on 27 December 2008, although tree surgeons were brought in to save the historic tree.
Both Melbourne Legacy and the Yarralumla Nursery in Canberra have raised and grown 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 organisations throughout Australia.
According to a plaque in Sorrento Park in Sorrento, Victoria
Sorrento, Victoria
Sorrento is a township in Victoria, Australia, located on the shores of Port Phillip on the Mornington Peninsula, about one and a half hours south of Melbourne...
an Aleppo pine in the park is another surviving tree grown from the seed of the Lone Pine.
In Anzac Grove in Corrimal, there is a tree and a plaque which reads "This tree was raised from a seed of the original Lone Pine by Mr Stan Davis of the Illawarra Diggers Rest Home and was given to Corrimal RSL whose member's planted it in this spot on Anzac Day 25-04-1994 Lest We forget"
There is also another Lone Pine tree at Rosstrevor, Brighton Grammar School, Victoria and Oakleigh South Primary School, Melbourne, Victoria.
Trees in New Zealand
Memorial trees have been planted in Taradale Cemetery and King Edward Park in StratfordStratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...
in New Zealand.