Media Release

22 August 2012

Gallipoli Lone Pine Presentation

Seedlings descended from the original Gallipoli Lone pine will be presented today to Hawke’s Bay Regional Council by SCION. HBRC will in turn present a tree to the Napier RSA.

The presentation of six Lone Pine seedlings will be at Hawke’s Bay Regional Council today ( Wednesday 22 August) at 1.30pm.

The seedlings are the direct descendants of the original ‘Lone Pine’ (a Turkish red pine or p.brutia) that was blasted to bits in the Battle of Lone Pine in August 1915. This was a major Australian battle that was planned as a diversion for the bigger battle at Chunuk Bair involving New Zealand troops that followed shortly afterwards.

The only tree in New Zealand that is a direct descendant of this Gallipoli tree grows at the Paeroa Golf Course. It came via Australia. Following the battle, a pine cone from the Gallipoli tree was sent back to Australia by Sergeant Keith McDowall and 12 years later was propagated by his mother.

Most pines planted at war memorials in New Zealand are not Lone pines but a range of pine species, often Aleppo pine (a species found at Gallipoli) pinus radiata and others.

The pine tree many visiting Kiwis have seen at the New Zealand and Ataturk Memorial at Gallipoli is the pinus brutia.

Recently, the RSL propagated over 1000 seedlings from the pinus brutia tree in Melbourne for RSL organisations and schools throughout Australia to plant as memorial trees.

HBRC land services adviser Joe Devonport thought the same could be done in Hawke’s Bay to commemorate the 100 year anniversary in 2015 of the Gallipoli landings with an authentic descendent of the Gallipoli Lone Pine.

He contacted SCION which agreed to raise the initial seedlings for Hawke’s Bay. Plans for further seedlings are yet to be decided.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council will plant four of the seedlings at country parks, and two seedlings will go to RSAs in the region who have agreed to plant these. SCION are keeping another two plants for their arboretum and possible further breeding.
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