Koroit Avenue of Honour
Anzac Avenue,Koroit, MOYNE SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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Koroit Avenue of Honour - Physical Description 1
Avenue.
Koroit Avenue of Honour - Historical Australian Themes
Remembering the fallen
Veterans Description for Public
Koroit Avenue of Honour - Veterans Description for Public
The Koroit Avenue of Honour, along Anzac Avenue, was planted in 1918 to commemorate the First World War. The borough council declared at the end of the war that Albert Avenue would be planted as an avenue of honour to the fallen and renamed Anzac Avenue. In 1921, a war memorial was also proposed to honour theseventeen local men who lost their lives. It took some time before sufficient funds were collected but eventually a simple stone obelisk was erected in the local gardens in 1928.
In 1959, twenty-tree Poplar trees were pulled out amidst much controversy amongst locals, including ex-servicemen, and replaced with London Plane trees (Platanus x acerifolia). This planting consists of twenty specimens that line both sides of Anzac Avenue. The trees vary in size and thus in age, with the majority appearing to date from the 1940s or 1950s. More trees have been planted recently and are only 5-10 years old.
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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TOWER HILL COMMON SCHOOLVictorian Heritage Register H0530
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KOROIT BOTANIC GARDENSVictorian Heritage Register H0118
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RosebankNational Trust
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