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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-23 Daily Xml
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LONE PINE

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:36): I rise today to draw to the attention of the house the fact that the parliament is now in possession of a Lone Pine, a descendant of the famous Lone Pine from Gallipoli, and this is thanks to the good offices of Mr Nick Smyth, who has presented this pine to the parliament. As the Speaker was not available to receive it, I acted in his place in the ceremony on Friday 1 August.

I want to acknowledge the presence of some very important guests at this small ceremony, and I will then tell the house a little bit about the history of the Lone Pine. The guest list included: Mrs Aygul Simsek, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Turkey, and her husband Mr Simsek; the Hon. Attorney-General; the Hon. Carmel Zollo, Minister for Correction Services, Road Safety and Gambling at the time; Mr Nick Smyth and partner Kellie Stewart and their daughter Innay; Mr Graham Nybo, Deputy State Secretary of the RSL, representing Mr Jock Statton; Mr Dave Helman, President of the RAAF Association; Mr Paul Coppock, President of the Vietnam Veterans Association; Greg Blythe, President of the TPI Association; Lieutenant Colonel G.J. Dunlop, President of the RAR Association; and various members of parliament who were able to attend on the day, but I wish to particularly acknowledge the member for Heysen, who liaised with Mr Smyth about the presentation of this tree to the parliament.

Mr Smyth did ask that if I were able to recognise this ceremony in the parliament I mention that just at the time when I was reminding everyone of how the soldiers of Gallipoli had fought in defence of parliamentary democracy, there was a great clap of thunder, a bolt of lightening and the heavens opened. We are all trying to interpret exactly what that meant, but it did seem like a big omen at the time.

I think we have all heard of the Lone Pine but do not necessarily know why it is so important in our history. Lone Pine, or Plateau 400, was the scene of a major diversionary offensive launched by the Australian 1st Division on 6 August 1915. The Turks had cut down all but one pine from Plateau 400 and these were used to cover their trenches. The ridge dominated by this one Allepo Pine (pinus halepensis) became known as Lonesome Pine or Lone Pine. In three days of fighting, the Australians lost more than 2,000 men and the Turk losses were estimated at more than 7,000. Seven Victoria Crosses were awarded.

As far as we know, two Australian soldiers souvenired pine cones from the ridge that found their way back to Australia. Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith of the 3rd Battalion, whose brother was killed at Lone Pine, sent home a cone to his mother, Mrs McMullen, at Inverell in New South Wales. Mrs McMullen kept the cone for 13 years until 1928 before planting the seeds. She grew two seedlings, one of which she presented to the town of Inverell and the other to the parks and gardens section of the Department of Interior in Canberra. The Duke of Gloucester planted the second tree at the Australian War Memorial in October 1934. Today it stands over 20 metres in height.

Sergeant Keith McDowell of the 24th Battalion carried a pine cone in his haversack until the end of the war. Upon returning home to Australia he gave it to his aunt, Emma Gray, who lived at Grassmere near Warrnambool in Victoria. A decade or so later, Mrs Gray planted the seeds, and four seedlings were grown. One was planted in May 1933 in Wattle Park, Melbourne; another was planted at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne; and another at the Soldiers Memorial Hall at The Sisters. The last seedling was planted in the Warrnambool Gardens. In 1990 two trees were taken back to Gallipoli with war veterans who attended the memorial service to mark the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign. Legacy has now adopted the pine and taken some responsibility for its continued propagation and place in our history.

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