Deputy Mayor of Le Quesnoy France visits Whangamata World War 1 Memorial Forest

There's more than 18,000km distance between Le Quesnoy in France and Whangamata on the Coromandel, but yesterday delegates from both towns connected as part of our World War 1 Memorial Forest project.

Le Quesnoy Deputy Mayor, Marie José Burlion (pictured right) and previous Mayor of Le Quesnoy, Paul Raoult, (pictured left) along with 28 other french delegates visited the Le Quesnoy WW1 Memorial Forest in Whangamata and were welcomed by some of our Community Board members, Councillors, Council staff and members of the Whangamata Community.

“This project is certainly about honouring our soldiers and acknowledging sacrifices made, but on days like this it is also about celebrating the special relationship that has grown between the people of Le Quesnoy and the people of New Zealand,” said Garry Towler, Whangamata Area Manager.

“When you go to France everyone talks about all the other battles [during WW1]. It means so much that Le Quesnoy is talked about and remembered in New Zealand. The fact that the trees have been planted and a forest will grow and live on as a memory is important to us, like it is important to you,” said previous Mayor of Le Quesnoy, Paul Raoult.

The Le Quesnoy Memorial Forest is located in Whangamata at the north entrance of town and 122 trees have been planted there to remember the 122 Kiwi troops killed in the Battle of Le Quesnoy on 4 November 1918.

The whole project has involved community groups and schools in the planting and care of the forests. As well as providing an enduring focus to remember the war, the goal is to provide a series of forests which provide environmental education for schoolchildren, a focal point for community involvement, and places of environmental sustainability for future generations.

The French delegation heard of our Council's WWI Memorial Forest project and requested the Le Quesnoy Memorial Forest in Whangamata be put on their itinerary.

The first trees of our Memorial Forest were planted on Anzac Day 2015 - the 100th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli.

The eight WWI Memorial Forest sites pay tribute to the New Zealand soldiers who fell in a particular battle or to the men from a particular Coromandel Peninsula town who were killed by planting an equal number of trees to men who never came back from the Great War.

Over the years, these groves of trees will mature into forests, providing quiet places for people to visit the tree commemorating their chosen soldier and to remember New Zealand history.

The New Zealand World War 1 Memorial Forest project was one of the finalists for the Local Government New Zealand Excellence Awards in 2016 for Community Engagement.

For more information on the New Zealand World War 1 Memorial Forests project across the Coromandel Peninsula see www.tcdc.govt.nz/ww1memorialforest.

Donate the cost of a tree

Pay tribute to one of the fallen by donating to our WWI Memorial Forest.

Your $25 donation dedicates a tree in the WWI Memorial Forest to a specific New Zealand soldier who died in the Great War and will help pay for its planting and care.

You'll receive a memorial certificate with the soldier's name and the GPS co-ordinates of the tree.

Alternatively, you can gift a tree to a fallen soldier on behalf of your family.

If you wish to donate to the Le Quesnoy Memorial Forest in Whangamata, for an extra $10 you will receive a commemorative poppy.

Click here for more information.

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