Epsom Avenue of Honour

Epsom, GREATER BENDIGO CITY

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Vic. War Heritage Inventory

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • Physical Description 1

    Epsom Avenue of Honour - Physical Description 1

    The Epsom Avenue of Honour consists of Cotton Palm (Washingtonia filifera). This site has been identified but requires further research. Please contact the database administrator if you wish to contribute information to this record.

    Historical Australian Themes

    Epsom Avenue of Honour - Historical Australian Themes

    Remembering the fallen

    Usage/Former Usage

    Epsom Avenue of Honour - Usage/Former Usage

    Commemoration

    Veterans Description for Public

    Epsom Avenue of Honour - Veterans Description for Public

    The Epsom Avenue of Honour consists of a single row of seventeen Cotton Palm trees (Washingtonia filifera) planted in 1919 to commemorate the First World War. The area the trees were planted on now comprises of a private property but further research is required to confirm the exact location.

    In Australia, commemorative trees have been planted in public spaces since the late nineteenth century. Arbor Days were held regularly in most Victorian State Schools during the late 1800s and early 1900s, and numerous trees were planted in parks in Melbourne and throughout Victoria to mark the visits of important and famous people.

    This tradition of commemorative planting was continued in 1901 when at the end of the Boer War trees were often planted for each soldier of the district who was killed in South Africa. These plantings, however, rarely consisted of more than two or three trees in each town.

    During and after the First World War avenues of honour consisting of trees lining significant streets became a popular form of commemoration. They represented a new egalitarian approach to the commemoration of soldiers where rank was not a consideration: each tree symbolises a person.

    Avenues of honour are a uniquely Australian phenomenon. Australians, and in particular Victorians, embraced the idea of planting them more enthusiastically than any other country in the world. The Eurack Avenue of Honour is the earliest known avenue of honour to be planted in Victoria and dates from May 1916.

    By the time of the Second World War avenues of honour had declined in popularity as a means of commemoration. Today it is estimated that over 300 avenues of honour have been planted in Victoria to commemorate service personnel since 1901.
    
    

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