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On anniversary of Somme battle, 2,300 trees planted


On anniversary of Somme battle, 2,300 trees planted in WWI Memorial Forest


On the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, 2,300 trees are being planted in the Stella Evered Memorial Park to pay tribute to the New Zealand soldiers killed in one of the bloodiest battles of World War I.

On September 15 1916, the 18,000 men of the New Zealand Division joined the Battle of the Somme; just over three weeks later nearly 6,000 men had been wounded and an estimated 2,300 had been killed.

The Somme Memorial Forest at the Stella Evered Memorial Park is the latest site to be planted in the WWI Memorial Forest - a group of eight groves of native trees spread across the Coromandel Peninsula to commemorate the 18,166 New Zealand men who were killed in the war.

The Memorial Forest is a project of our Council that has received backing from the NZ Lotteries Fund, Waikato Regional Council, the Department of Conservation, local RSAs, schools and other community groups.

Each Memorial Forest site pays tribute to a different battle or to the men from a particular area of the Coromandel who fell in the war.


The eight sites we have are:

• Stella Evered Memorial Park: This publicly accessible privately administered reserve is host the Somme Memorial Forest site. 2,300 trees are being planted here near the Purangi Estuary.

• Cathedral Cove: A site on Public Conservation Land above the cove represents the Gallipoli campaign, in which 2,779 New Zealanders died. 2,779 trees have been planted here.

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• New Mercury Bay cemetery. Two signature trees have been planted and 35 trees have been blessed for planting. 37 men from Mercury Bay were killed in the war. 2,000 trees will be planted here - a representative number to commemorate the men killed in the battle.

• Tairua's RSA cemetery honours the 48 men from Tairua-Hikuai who served and died in the war. 48 trees have been planted there.

• Pauanui's Tangitarori Lane represents the Sinai and Palestine campaigns, in which 640 New Zealanders died. 640 trees have been planted on Council and WRC land.

• Whangamata: A Council reserve at the north entrance to town has been renamed Le Quesnoy Park and 122 trees have been planted there to remember the 122 Kiwi troops killed in the Battle of Le Quesnoy on 4 November 1918.

• At Rhodes Park in Thames, 247 trees were planted in 2015 to honour the Thames war dead.

• In Coromandel Town, TCDC land at the Hauraki Rd wastewater treatment plant is the site of the forest representing "Supreme Sacrifice". More than 1,000 trees have been planted there. This site also pays tribute to the 39 Coromandel Town men who fell in the Great War.

• Other sites honouring, for example, the Battle of Messines will become available as funding permits.


Commemorate a tree to a fallen soldier

Anyone can have a tree commemorated to a particular New Zealand soldier by making a $25 donation. You'll receive a memorial certificate with the soldier's name and the GPS co-ordinates of the tree.

For full details on the project and how to commemorate a tree, go to our web pagewww.tcdc.govt.nz/ww1memorialforest

A poignant moment

The planting at Stella Evered Memorial Park is being carried out by local arborists Land & TreeWorks.

"It was poignant for me that we're planting trees in the Somme Memorial Forest on the 100th anniversary of the battle," says Land and Tree Works co-owner Susa Wilson. "We're delighted to be doing this work in conjunction with TCDC. This is our backyard, it's our forest. We have a sense of commitment to this area and we're contributing to the local economy," she says.

Land and Tree Works is planting coastal natives at the Somme Memorial Forest site: pohutukawa, nikau, puriri, kahikatea, lancewood, manuka, kanuka, kowhai and others.

To read more about the New Zealand Division's experience in the Battle of the Somme, go towww.nzhistory.net.nz/war/the-battle-of-the-somme

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