Tambo Upper Avenue of Honour

Driveway to community hall,Tambo Upper, EAST GIPPSLAND SHIRE

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Vic. War Heritage Inventory

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • Physical Description 1

    Tambo Upper Avenue of Honour - Physical Description 1

    Avenue comprising six Flowering Gums recently planted along driveway to community hall.

    Historical Australian Themes

    Tambo Upper Avenue of Honour - Historical Australian Themes

    Remembering the fallen

    Usage/Former Usage

    Tambo Upper Avenue of Honour - Usage/Former Usage

    Original trees replaced

    Veterans Description for Public

    Tambo Upper Avenue of Honour - Veterans Description for Public

    The Tambo Upper Avenue of Honour comprised of six flowering gums planted in the 1920s, in memory of six soldiers from Tambo Upper who lost their lives inthe First World War.At the foot of each tree was a plaque bearing the name, unit and date and place of death of the soldier to whom it was dedicated. Over the years all but one of the trees died. Five of the plaques were saved, mounted on a wooden shield and placed in the community hall. The sixth plaque was carried away in a flood, so a hand-painted one - showing only the soldiers name and rank but not where and when he had died - was added to the shield in its place.
    
    In 1997, an enquiry at the school about the Avenue of Honour set the teachers and pupils off on a journey to recover and preserve Tambo Upper's vanished war heritage. With the help of the local RSL club, six new flowering gums, each with a name plaque, now stand along the driveway to the community hall. Research on documents held in Canberra revealed the missing details for Corporal Stone.

    Remembrance Day, November 11th 1997, was a very special occasion as the community were able to gather once again at Tambo Upper's Avenue of Honour. For the first time in many years members of the community, along with the pupils and teachers of Tambo Upper Primary School, came together to remember Sergeant Hugh Ross, 38th Battalion; Corporal John McMeekin, 59th Battalion; Trooper John Stone, 4th Light Horse; Private Alfred Laurent, 39th Battalion; Private Andrew Neal, 24th Battalion; and Gunner Frederick Biggs, 4th Battalion.
    
    During the course of the community's research other memorabilia from the descendants of the six soldiers came to light. Some of this is now being preserved at the school and in the community hall. Memories of the soldiers and their families were recalled and information about other memorabilia recorded. During the Remembrance Day ceremony, devised by the school with the assistance of the local RSL, the personal details of the lives and service of the Tambo Upper soldiers were read out and discussed.

    In Australia, commemorative trees have been planted in public spaces since the late nineteenth century. Arbor Days were held regularly in most Victorian State Schools during the late 1800s and early 1900s, and numerous trees were planted in parks in Melbourne and throughout Victoria to mark the visits of important and famous people.

    This tradition of commemorative planting was continued in 1901 when at the end of the Boer War trees were often planted for each soldier of the district who was killed in South Africa. These plantings, however, rarely consisted of more than two or three trees in each town.

    During and after the First World War avenues of honour consisting of trees lining significant streets became a popular form of commemoration. They represented a new egalitarian approach to the commemoration of soldiers where rank was not a consideration: each tree symbolises a person.

    Avenues of honour are a uniquely Australian phenomenon. Australians, and in particular Victorians, embraced the idea of planting them more enthusiastically than any other country in the world. Dating from May 1916, the Eurack Avenue of Honour is the earliest known avenue of honour to be planted in Victoria.

    By the time of the Second World War avenues of honour had declined in popularity as a means of commemoration. Today it is estimated that over 300 avenues of honour have been planted in Victoria to commemorate service personnel since 1901.
    
    

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