STUDENT Angus Rutherford will have the honour of planting a seedling that originated from Gallipoli’s Lone Pine in the grounds of Milton Public School.
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The year six prefect presented the pine tree to his school at its Anzac ceremony on April 11 and is looking forward to planting it when school resumes after the holidays.
During the presentation, Angus spoke about the Battle of the Lone Pine, one of the most famous assaults of the Gallipoli campaign during World War I.
“The Lone Pine attack, launched by the 1st Brigade AIF in the late afternoon of August 6, 1915, pitched Australian forces against formidable entrenched Turkish positions, sections of which were securely roofed over with pine logs,” he said.
“Turkish troops had felled nearby pine trees to reinforce their trenches and only a solitary tree remained when the Battle of Lone Pine began.
“In some instances the attackers had to break in through the roof of the trench systems in order to engage the defenders.
“The main Turkish trench was taken within 20 minutes of the initial charge but this was the prelude to four days of intense hand-to-hand fighting, resulting in over 2,000 Australian casualties.”
Angus told the assembly that, during the campaign, several Australian soldiers sent home pine cones from the tree, but these trees had since died of old age.
One tree, planted at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, survived until recent years and the seeds from the Memorial Tree were collected and distributed through the RSL to various towns throughout Australia.
Angus’s grandfather Bob Allen held an interest in forestry and obtained a seedling from Albury’s grandson of the Lone Pine and planted it on his property.
Two years ago, he potted a seed from his tree and gave the seedling to Angus to plant in his school.
A sister seedling was also presented to Ulladulla Public School on April 11.
Angus and his mum, MPS teacher Louise Allen, are excited to be able to plant the fourth generation of the Lone Pine within the school grounds and they are seeking advice on the best place to carry out a planting ceremony to ensure the tree’s survival.
Angus said he would be taking part in the Milton Anzac Day march and encouraged other students to wear uniforms and join in the memorial event.
