Prime Minister of Australia with the Turkish Ambassador

On Thursday 4 September 2008, Jon Stanhope MLA, Chief Minister of the ACT, joined The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister of Australia, for the planting of ‘Lone Pine' trees on the summit of Dairy Farmers Hill at the Canberra International Arboretum and Gardens.

His Excellency Mr Murat N Ersavci, Ambassador of Turkey; His Excellency Dr John Larkindale, High Commissioner for New Zealand; Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Chief of the Defence Force, and Major General Bill Crews, National President, Returned Services League of Australia also planted ceremonial Lone Pine trees at Dairy Farmers Hill.

These six trees were the first of the seventeen Pinus halepensis donated by the Turkish Embassy that will be planted on and around Dairy Farmers Hill as the Arboretum develops. The trees were grown from seed collected from the commemorative ‘Lone Pine’ planted in 1934 at the Australian War Memorial. They will form part of a forest of Pinus halepensis and Pinus brutia at the site.

The story of the War Memorial's ‘Lone Pine' is a story familiar to many, and one that has captured Australia's heart. It is also a significant part of the broader ANZAC story and an emotional link between the people of Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.

One of the best-known battles of the Gallipoli campaign, the Battle of Lone Pine was launched by the 1st Brigade AIF in the late afternoon of 6 August 1915 against solid Turkish positions. While the main Turkish trench was quickly over-run the battle continued for four days and resulted in more than 2000 Australian and more than 5000 Turkish casualties. Seven Australians were awarded Victoria Crosses for their role in the battle.

A plaque at the Australian War Memorial tells of the Australian soldier, whose brother perished in the battle, retrieving a pine cone from one of the branches used by the Turks to cover their trenches. The soldier sent the cone to his mother, who germinated a tree from its seed and presented the tree to the War Memorial in 1934, in memory of her son and the sons of others who died at Lone Pine.

It should be noted that Pinus halepensis is not native to the Gallipoli peninsula; the native pine there is Pinus brutia (Turkish red pine). However, this in no way diminishes the significance of this first ‘Lone Pine’ set of plantings at the Arboretum site. In the near future there will be a complementary planting of Pinus brutia, which almost certainly was the species that gave its name to the Lone Pine ridge battlefield.

 

     

Prime Minister, Chief Minister and Mr John Mackay

  

    

Prime Minister with the Chief Minister

    

  

Bagpipper