Four Avenues of Honour, planted in remembrance of World War I soldiers, have been given the highest level of heritage protection in the state.
Two avenues in the Western Victorian Region- at Mortlake and Kingston- plus two others in Macedon and Cranbourne, have been added to the Victorian Heritage Register.
Adding these four significant avenues to the register means any alterations would need approval from Heritage Victoria.
Since the early 1900s, commemorative avenues of trees have been planted in Australia and
internationally to honour those who have served in war.
The avenues were a way to publicly honour soldiers equally, regardless of their rank, in their hometowns.
Victoria has more avenues of honour than any other state- 218 were planted to commemorate soldiers in the first World War and more than 100 planted to mark other conflicts.
A $20,000 grant from the government’s Anzac Centenary program sponsored specialist assessments. There are now ten Avenues of honour on the state heritage register.
The Kingston Avenue of Honour has individual name plaques attached to each tree to commemorate the service of men and women in the district with Maltese crosses marking those who did not return.
Mortlake’s Avenue of Honour consists of 191 Monterey Cyprus with almost all trees still intact while Cranbourne’s avenue is a short and dramatic planting of oaks.
The avenues now join more than 2000 places and objects on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Quotes attributable to Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney
“Our Avenues of Honour have been local landmarks for almost 100 years, we could not imagine our area without them. It is reassuring to know the trees are protected for future generations to enjoy.
“Any changes or development around the avenue will need to account
for any possible damage to the trees as the avenue now has the state’s highest
heritage protection in place.