Lone Pine - Gladstone, Queensland, Australia
S 23° 50.962 E 151° 15.542
56K E 322700 N 7361360
This pine tree and plaque are a memorial to those who served in Turkey in The Great War.
Waymark Code: WM17B2Q
Location: Queensland, Australia
Date Posted: 01/16/2023
Views: 0
The juvenile Aleppo Pine is in a wood-chip bed surrounded by a white-painted, tear-drop shaped concrete edging. At the western end of the small garden bed is a printed metal plaque on an angled wooden slab atop a wooden post. It retells the story of the battle of Lone Pone Ridge, and thus the significance of the Dedicated Tree next to it. The inscription reads:
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The Lone Pine
Pinus halepensis
"On August 6, 1915, the 1st Australian Infantry Division launched a major offensive at Plateau 400 at Gallipoli, Turkey. The ridges were once clothed with the Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis) 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 ANZAC's 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 Inverell, NSW. Mrs McMullen sowed some of the seeds some 13 years later. Two seedlings were grown, and was presented to the town of Inverell. The Duke of Gloucester planted the second tree at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
"Sergeant Keith McDowell of the 24th Battalion brought back a pinecone and gave it to his aunt, Mrs Emma Gray, of Warrnambool, VIC. 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."
LEST WE FORGET
Address: ANZAC Park, Gladstone, Qld, 4680, Australia
Visited: 0929, Tuesday, 7th June, 2022