Yeronga Memorial Park Honour Avenue

About

The earliest known planting in Brisbane of memorial trees to soldiers who died in the First World War. Also thought to be the second oldest memorial planting in Australia. Established between September 1917 and August 1919, the Honour Avenue linked Ipswich Road at it's eastern end, with Park Road at the western end. The extremities of the avenue are designated by two sets of significant gates; war memorials in their own right. Originally, ninety-six trees were planted commemorating 96 individuals from the Stephens Shire who made the supreme sacrifice during the war. The original trees consisted of weeping figs (Ficus) and Flame Trees (Brachychiton acerfolus) and were planted in the following numbers: 41 trees on 15 September 1917, 31 trees on 26 July 1918 and 24 trees on 23 August 1919. Commemorative plaques were attached to small timber posts at the base of each tree. Most of these do not exist in 2010 and have been replaced by small polished stone commemorative plaques. A variety of palms and other trees have been planted to replace the original trees that have died over the 93 years since the original planting. With the enormous outpouring of grief following the end of the First World War, Honour Avenue and the plaques were seen as a fitting tribute to the local 'Fallen Heroes'. Additional Information The second planting in Yeronga Park on 26 July 1918 was dedicated by the Governor-General Major Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams. In the mid 1990s, the Stephens RSL Sub-Branch took on the major task of replacing lost or damaged plaques with the polished stone plaques which are now in place. Names of those 96 soldiers from Stephens Shire who did not return from the war were collated from the honour boards now housed in the Sub-Branch s rooms. These honour boards list every serviceman from the district, and a crown distinguishes those who gave their lives. The plaques were placed in concrete blocks under the trees in Honour Avenue as well as under other trees in the area adjacent to the domed memorial pavilion. These included the palms that line the footpath to the memorial and other palms in the open memorial lawn area near Ipswich Road. (Sources: Queensland Heritage Register (DERM) and Brisbane City Council Heritage 'Avenues of Honour' Research Report)