Although long having disappeared from the school’s landscape, it is known the original Avenue of Honour was established in September1934, to commemorate the WW1 sacrifice of 98 old scholars from the Launceston Church Grammar School – Senior Campus.
During the 1930s seeds from Aleppo Pines (Pinus halepensis) at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula, were given to the School by Colonel Hughes, which he had obtained from the Imperial War Graves Commission. Some seed was given to William McGowan, the curator of Launceston’s parks, and some given to the Walker Brothers at the Sandhill nursery.
Others were germinated and planted on 30 August 1934, as an avenue leading from the Senior Campus Chapel forecourt, to the Quad.
By the early 1980s concerns had arisen over the safety of the trees, some of which were clearly in decay. It was decided that they would have to be removed.
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After the Avenue of Honour trees were removed, several trees were milled to produce slabs. Up until 2016, it had become an honoured tradition, for the Grade 12 students, to prepare commemorative plaques from these slabs each year, for display.
In 1982 seed was again gathered and a student’s parent of the time, Ross Waining, propagated around a dozen trees which were later sold at the school fair.
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In December 2011, an ANZAC Lone Pine was planted behind the Poimena Gallery as part of the 5-year reunion of the Class of 2006, in memory of Richard Atkinson, a fellow classmate killed in active service in Afghanistan. The School Archivist at the time, sourced the Pine from Canberra, where it had been propagated from the seed of the Anzac Pine growing at the Australian War Memorial.
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Founded on 15 June 1846, the Launceston Church Grammar School is probably the longest, continuously active school in Australia.
Part of its historic fabric, tradition and commemorative ethos, is the honouring of scholars, who have served and some having paid the ultimate sacrifice, in theatres of war on behalf of Australia. Examples are depicted in the image gallery below.
The source of information is largely courtesy of the School’s website page, dedicated to their 175 years celebration.
Several stories are revealed by various members of the school community, including one titled “Trees of Remembrance”.
