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CALDER WOODBURN MEMORIAL AVENUE
GOULBURN VALLEY HIGHWAY ARCADIA AND KIALLA WEST AND KIALLA AND ARCADIA SOUTH, GREATER SHEPPARTON CITY, STRATHBOGIE SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
CALDER WOODBURN MEMORIAL AVENUE SOHE 2008
CALDER WOODBURN MEMORIAL AVENUE SOHE 2008
CALDER WOODBURN MEMORIAL AVENUE SOHE 2008
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H01975 calder woodburn plan3
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Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue was planted between 1945 and 1949 by Mr JLF (Fen) Woodburn as a living memorial to his son Calder who lost his life while serving abroad with the Royal Australian Air Force. Calder Woodburn, a graduate of Dookie Agricultural College, enlisted 1940. He failed to return from a mine laying mission along the French coastline in April 1942. In late 1943 Fen Woodburn offered to plant two rows of trees for a distance of 9.5kms along the Goulburn Valley Highway as a memorial to his son. Starting in 1945, by August 1947 Fen Woodburn had planted all the 1406 trees to complete his original vision. In 1948 he extended by a further 638 trees. In its final form the avenue was extended, in four rows, as far as the Murchison-Violet Town Road in 1949 making a total of 2,457 trees. Woodburn wanted the Avenue to be a memorial to all local servicemen who did not return from the Second World War. Memorial name plates were fixed to 110 of the trees, the trees selected being at the nearest point to the servicemen?s homes.

How is it significant?
The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue is of historic, aesthetic and social significance to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?
The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue is historically significant for its commemorative association with servicemen who died during the Second World War. Planted by Fen Woodburn between 1945 and 1949 initially as a memorial to his son Calder, the Avenue is the grandest and largest of the Second World War commemorative planting in Victoria and is important for its use of only Eucalyptus species. The use of Australian native trees is particularly historically significant when contrasted to the almost universal use of exotic species for First World War memorial avenues and is consistent with a different view of Australian national consciousness which emerged after the fall of Singapore in 1942.

The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue is aesthetically significant as a prominent landscape planting of more than 2,400 trees over a length of nearly 20 kilometres along the Goulburn Valley Highway. About one third are Eucalyptus camaldulensis, and the other two thirds consists of roughly equal numbers of Eucalyptus cladocalyx, Eucalyptus microcarpa, Eucalyptus melliodora, Eucalyptus maculata, Eucalyptus polyanthemos, and Eucalyptus sideroxylon. There are some Eucalyptus leucoxylon, Eucalyptus citriodora, and a few other unidentified Eucalyptus species. The whole forms an outstanding designed landscape and roadside planting of a scale and complexity not seen in Victoria. The uniform planting, tree form, size and maturity provides an outstanding landscape forms a dominant feature in the flat surrounding countryside, which is largely cleared for agriculture. The various bark characteristics and the alternating Ironbark and Lemon-scented Gums which provide contrasting texture and colours are also of interest. The visual impression, lineal form, planting density and landscape character of the planting are distinctive and contribute strongly to the experience of the road user. The planting is a rare example in Victoria using four rows of formally planted trees.

The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue is socially important for its relationship with the community as a memorial to servicemen who died during the Second World War. The Avenue was conceived as a living memorial and is recognised by the Returned Services League and the community for its continuing commemorative importance.

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    • History

      CALDER WOODBURN MEMORIAL AVENUE - History

      HISTORY OF PLACE:

      The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue was planted between 1945 and 1949 by Mr J L F (Fen) Woodburn as a living memorial to his son Calder who lost his life while serving abroad with the Royal Australian Air Force. Calder Woodburn graduated from Dookie Agricultural College in 1936 and enlisted with the Royal Australian Air Force in 1940. Woodburn was posted to the 455 Squadron and arrived in England in 1941. He was involved in laying mines along the French coastline, and on one of these missions in April 1942 he failed to return.

      In late 1943 Fen Woodburn began discussions with the Country Roads Board (CRB) about a memorial to his son. Offering to finance the project Woodburn planned to plant two rows of trees for a distance of 9.5kms along the Goulburn Valley Highway. During the second half of 1945, 152 trees were planted, starting near the Seven Creek’s bridge and moving south. A total of 425 trees had been planted by August 1946. Woodburn planted all the trees. By August 1947 the work originally envisaged had been completed with a total of 1406 trees being planted. Woodburn then planned to extend the avenue by two or three miles and in 1948 a further 638 trees were planted. It was then decide to continue the planting to the Murchison - Violet Town Road and a further 500 trees were planted. The final avenue planting comprised of 2,544 trees and is planted in 4 rows along the Highway.

      Woodburn stated that the Avenue should be a memorial to all local servicemen who did not return from the Second World War. Name plates were fixed to a number of the trees, the trees selected being at the nearest point to the servicemen’s homes. Various CRB officials and Mr Venville of the Forest Commission who raised the plants at the Macedon Nursery, and assisted with the planning are also honoured.

       

      Assessment Against Criteria

      CALDER WOODBURN MEMORIAL AVENUE - Assessment Against Criteria

      g. The importance of the place or object in demonstrating social or cultural associations

      The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue is socially important due to relationship with the community as a memorial to servicemen who lost their life during the Second World War. The Avenue was conceived as living memorial and is recognised by the Returned Services League for its commemorative importance. The unveiling of a memorial in 1995 listing the names of lost servicemen continues the community appreciation and memorial values of the Avenue

      Permit Exemptions

      CALDER WOODBURN MEMORIAL AVENUE - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

      Specific Exemptions:

      General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible. General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it. General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable. No permits are required for works which are in accordance with the Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue Conservation Management Plan prepared by John Patrick Pty Ltd dated August 2001

      Permit Exemption Policy

      CALDER WOODBURN MEMORIAL AVENUE - Permit Exemption Policy

      In managing changes to the place consult the Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue Conservation Management Plan prepared by John Patrick Pty Ltd dated August 2001

Public contributions

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