Comprising a double row of Sugar Gums (Eucalyptus cladocalyx), planted on the 21st June 1900, the Baden-Powell Avenue is considered the very first commemorative avenue of trees for war service and sacrifice, planted in Australia. It was conceived initially by Mr FW Allinson, the Head Teacher of the Havelock State School 1264. The local Council supported the concept and the Avenue was established as a tribute to commemorate the British Empire’s recent success during the South African campaign (Boer War).
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Correspondence received, noted a request from FW Allinson (Head Teacher of the State School), re planting trees at Havelock inviting Council for 21st June.
Moved that the Council accept the invitation and that a sum of £5 be voted for the purpose. Carried.
Two newspaper reports are at variance. The Avoca Mail of 29th June 1900 states there were about 40 trees. The Maryborough & Dunolly Advertiser of 25th June 1900 states there were about 50 trees. Both agree the avenue went from the school to the railway station.
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Living Honour Roll
From the newspaper record, it is understood the first tree was at the school fence on the Maryborough side and that the second tree was on the opposite side of the road.
Given the regular spacings of between 18 – 21m, it is estimated the original planting was at least 42 trees.
There appears to be 27 original trees, 2 standing dead trees, 3 replacement trees c1920s, 3 possible replacement trees and 13 trees missing.
The names of those honoured by the first 14 trees are confidently stated in correct order. Beyond that the correct ordering is from a list that may not be in order. The names of those honoured by the final 13 trees are unknown. (More information about those honoured and the unknown trees, continue to be compiled).
Information and images courtesy of the Dunolly Museum.
 | This dead Sugar Gum (estimated death period 1970s – 80s), is located on the verge near the SW corner of the site of the former Havelock State School 1264. It was planted by John Dempster, President of Shire of Tullaroop, named in honour of Queen Victoria. |
 Tree missing | Named in honour of the Prince of Wales |
 | Named in honour of Prince George, Duke of York |
 | Named in honour of Princess Mary, Duchess of York |
 | Named in honour of General Lord Frederick Roberts |
 | Named in honour of Field Marshall Horatio Kitchener |
 Tree missing | Named in honour of General Sir Redvers Buller |
 | Named in honour of General Sir George White |
 | Named in honour of Major General Robert Baden-Powell |
 | Planted by Mrs Cameron Named in honour of General Hector McDonald |
 | Planted by Miss Hall Named in honour of General Ian Hamilton |
 | Planted by Cr George Bale Named in honour of General Thomas Kelly-Kenny |
 | Planted by Mrs Bale Named in honour of Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary for the Colonies |
 | Named in honour of Colonel Tom Price Commander 2nd Victorian Mounted Rifles |
 | Replacement tree c1920s. Named in honour of John Dempster, President, Shire of Tullaroop |
 | Named in honour of Frederick T Outtrim, Secretary, Shire of Tullaroop |
 | Replacement tree c1920s. Named in honour of Mr T Proctor, Chairman, School Board of Advice |
| Tree missing | Named in honour of Frederick H Hornsby, School Board of Advice |
 | Replacement tree c1920s. Named in honour of FW Allinson, Head Teacher, Havelock State School |
| Tree missing | Named in honour of Mr J Young, Havelock State Nursery |
 | Named in honour of Robert McCullum |
 | Named in honour of Major George Albert Eddy, Commander, 1st Victorian Mounted Infantry Born in Castlemaine, Victoria, 11 May 1860 Killed in Action, Rensburg, South Africa, 12th February 1900 |
| Tree missing | Named in honour of Lieutenant Robert Westrup Salmon 1st Victorian Mounted Rifles Born Amherst, Victoria, 12 July 1862 Died from Enteric Fever, Naauwpoort, South Africa, 16 March 1900 |
| Tree missing | Named in honour of the Hooper family |
 | Named in honour of the George Smith family |
 | Named in honour of the Hetherington family |
 | Named in honour of another Hooper family |
| Tree missing | Named in honour of the John Redhead family |
 | (This specimen, possibly a replacement tree planted c1920s, on behalf of the John Redhead family) |
 | Named in honour of the William Redhead family |
| Tree missing | Not yet determined who is honoured by a missing tree |
 | (This specimen, about 4m west of the William Redhead family tree, could be a replacement planted c1920s) |
 | (This specimen, split and multiple stem regrowth from the base, may have been part of the Avenue planting) |
| Tree missing | Not yet determined who is honoured by a missing tree |
 | Not yet determined who is honoured by this specimen |
 | Tree missing from this location. Not yet determined who is honoured by a missing tree. |
 | Not yet determined who is honoured by this specimen |
 | Not yet determined who is honoured by this specimen |
 | Not yet determined who is honoured by this specimen |
 | Not yet determined who is honoured by dead specimen |
| Tree missing | Not yet determined who is honoured by a missing tree. |
 | Not yet determined who is honoured by this specimen |
 | Not yet determined who is honoured by this specimen |
 | At a girth of 4.8m, this is the largest surviving specimen in the Avenue Not yet determined who is honoured by this tree |
This black & white image is adapted from an Aerial Survey Victoria photograph, 1946.
It clearly depicts the grounds of the former Havelock State School No 1264 at the bottom. Flanking both sides of the Maryborough-Dunolly Road, the Avenue of Sugar Gums is clearly depicted heading north, before veering east towards the railway line.
The Baden-Powell Avenue starts at the site of the former Havelock State School No. 1264 and proceeds north along the Maryborough-Dunolly Road for 240 m then turns east and follows the old Bendigo Road for a further 150 m to the site of the former Havelock Railway Station.
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Colour image: former schoolyard, Havelock State School No 1264, Glenn Williams June 2025.
It can be noted that during the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries, Sugar Gums were the most widely planted eucalypt tree across Australia; particularly at schools, church yards and farm boundaries.
Havelock History
Havelock is a rural locality and a former gold mining town 10 km north of Maryborough on the road and railway line to Dunolly.
Gold was discovered at Havelock in 1857, and the resulting settlement was named after Major General Sir Henry Havelock who died in 1857 during the Indian Mutiny. The remnants of the original settler’s homestead are about 4 km east of Havelock near the Tullaroop or Deep Creek – the Charlotte Plains homestead (1843) built by the Simson family.
Gold was readily won around Havelock, and the leads were also highly productive. Intermittent rushes to various finds continued until 1864. Deep alluvial leads were mined until the early 1900s, the Main Lead mines lasting until 1918. All the mining activity, however, did not generate a large local population, as many miners were transient or cycled from Maryborough. A school was opened in 1870, but the average attendance was usually under 30. The Havelock railway station was opened on the Maryborough to Dunolly line in 1874.
The only obvious piece of remaining Havelock infrastructure, is a brick chimney from one of the former, two hotels, directly opposite the site of the former Havelock State School 1264.
Image: Glenn Williams 17.06.2025
The following is an extract from Vision and Realisation – A Centenary History of State Education in Victoria – Volume 2 – Education Department of Victoria 1973
Pages 752 & 753 The Central Highlands Region
1264 HAVELOCK:
A State-aided Rural School, No. 49, later 1264, under the control of the Board of Education, opened on 1st of August 1870, with an enrolment in its initial year of 36 and an a.a. of 21. The school was on the Dunolly Rd, 6 miles from Maryborough. The first HT remained in charge when, on 1st of October 1873, SS1264 Havelock officially began in the same building, rented from the Shire of Tullaroop for 1s p.a. The a.a. for early 1873 was 28. A new wooden building with accommodation for 60 was erected on Crown Land, and opened on 10th of February 1874. According to Mrs Robinson, attendance fell in winter because of a gap between the walls and roof which made the school ‘almost uninhabitable’. She left in January 1879. About 1900 a fenced dam with underground piping supplied water for trees and garden. In October 1900 residents petitioned for a residence; the HT had to travel 6 miles daily by horse and buggy, a 1½ hour journey. The Board of Advice agreed on the need for a residence but it was never built. The school closed in February 1929. After HT Blanche Dancocks (1925, to 8th of January 1927) left, the school had been unstaffed. The building is thought to have been moved to Red Lion, and then to SS404 Maryborough as extra accommodation.
Volunteers from the Dunolly Museum are working to restore this nationally important heritage site. A successful submission to have the trees included on the National Trusts of Australia Register of Significant Trees, was made through the National Trust (Victoria).
Part of a series of next steps to help visitors understand and appreciate the significance of the site, is to install interpretive signs and tree plaques.
This sign is already installed.
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Images: Glenn Williams
Check out this great video Lost War Memorial Rediscovered in Central Victoria, compiled by Michelle Ross and John Tully, Victorian History Adventures