ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE HERITAGE COUNCIL

NAME FORMER PRIMARY SCHOOL AND AVENUE OF HONOUR LOCATION 93 STRICKLAND ROAD EAST BENDIGO HERITAGE OVERLAY NO: ‐ FILE NUMBER: FOL/15/47026 &FOL/15/47010 HERMES NUMBER: 5936 & 197887

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE HERITAGE COUNCIL:  That the place NOT be included in the Victorian Heritage Register under Section 32 (1)(b) of the Heritage Act 1995.

TIM SMITH Executive Director Recommendation Date: 27 November 2015

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 1 NOMINATION

A nomination for the Avenue of Honour at the East Bendigo Primary School was lodged on 24 September 2015. It was nominated on the basis that it satisfied Criteria A of The Victorian Heritage Register Criteria and Threshold Guidelines (2014) on the grounds that it was ‘the earliest known of this form of World War I memorial in Victoria’. That nomination was accompanied by a request for an Interim Protection Order (IPO). On 28 September an IPO was issued for the Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour, East Bendigo by the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria under s.56 of the Heritage Act 1995. The IPO was issued because it was the Executive Director’s view that there was 1) a prima facie case for the inclusion of this place in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) on the grounds that the Avenue of Honour was potentially one of the earliest commemorative plantings of its type in Victoria; and that 2) the place was at risk as it received no heritage protection. The area covered by the IPO of 28 September was larger than the extent nominated on 24 September. This was to enable cultural heritage significance of the whole place (building, grounds and avenue of honour) to be assessed.

The extent of the Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour, East Bendigo

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 2 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RESPONSE SUMMARY

It is the view of the Executive Director that the Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour, East Bendigo should not be included in the Victorian Heritage Register for the reasons outlined in this report. It should be noted that the consideration of a place for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register is based on its potential state level cultural heritage significance and its value to the wider State of Victoria. This report makes no comment on the potential local level cultural heritage significance of the Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour, East Bendigo and its value within the wider Bendigo community. That is a matter to be determined in relation to the provisions of the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 3 HISTORY SUMMARY

School Building Tenders were called for construction of a new brick State School in East Bendigo in March 1915. The building was constructed as a two room school and was officially opened by Mr Frank Tate, Director of Education, on 7 April 1916. Two months later, on 16 June 1916, Arbor Day was celebrated at the school with the planting of an Anzac Avenue to commemorate the landing of the Anzac soldiers at Gallipoli.

Avenue of Honour and Commemorative Trees On 18 May 1916 the Education Department recommended that all schools plant avenues of native trees, such as eucalypts and wattles, on Arbor Day to commemorate the Gallipoli landing in 1915. The East Bendigo State School Avenue of Honour was planted on 16 June 1916. It was one of many ‘Anzac Avenues’ planted by school children during mid‐1916. These plantings took place on Arbor Days across six regions in the state on 9 June, 16 June, 23 June, 30 June, 7 July and 14 July 1916. This table shows Anzac Avenues (or other forms of commemorative planting) known to be planted as part of this program, where evidence is available from newspaper reports on Trove.

TABLE 1 Anzac Avenues/commemorative plantings by Schools on Arbor Day, Victorian Education Department mid‐1916 where newspaper reports available on Trove which verify that the plantings occurred. This list is not exhaustive and further research may reveal additional plantings. Date Known Plantings (not exhaustive) Number 18 May 1916 Department of Education, recommends to all schools in NA Victoria to plant Anzac Avenues on Arbor Day. 2 June 1916 Bet Bet [Trees planted and an Anzac poem recited] NA 9 June 1916 Lawler, Logan, Maidavale, South Cannum 4 15 June 1916 Teal Point 1 16 June 1916 Barker's Creek, California Gully, East Bendigo, Elmore, 13 Elphinstone, Heywood, Mitiamo, Myers Creek, Nanneella West, Napoleons, Raywood, Sebastian, Tarrawingee 21 June 1916 Wirribibial, Rochester [Planned planting] 1 23 June 1916 Torquay, North Hamilton, Central State School Bendigo, 6 Werneth, Benalla East, North Bendigo 30 June 1916 Hildene, Ivanhoe, Mepunga East, Glenhope East, Ceres, 6 Steiglitz. [Eurack due to be planted today, but planted on 28 July 1916 due to unavailability of plants] 6 July 1916 North Mordialloc 1 7 July 1916 Traralgon, Morwell 2 14 July 1916 Stacey's Bridge, Locksley 2 28 July Eurack, Montrose 2

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 4 From the avenues listed in the table above the following are known to survive:

Place Date Planted Number of Number of Surviving Number of Trees Original Trees Trees which do not survive East Bendigo 16 June 1916 23 (1916) Original Avenue of 14 Avenue of 14 trees + 4 (after 1920) trees 11 lost from avenue = 27 2 living sugar gums 1 red ironbark replacement tree

(2 stumps) School Grounds School Grounds 9 lost from school 4 from 13 planted in grounds school grounds Ceres 30 June 1916 ≈ 10 ≈ 8‐9 Unknown Eurack 28 July 1916 = 21 18 Originals 0 4 Replacement trees

There may be remnants which survive from the other thirty‐four known avenues. Site visits would need to be conducted across the state to establish conclusively what remnants are extant. In addition to the thirty‐seven avenues known to be planted in mid‐1916, it is probable that an additional unknown number of Anzac Avenues were planted in response to the Education Department recommendation. These plantings may not have been reported in newspapers, or the newspapers may not be accessible on Trove. Some of these may have been planted earlier – or at the same time – as East Bendigo. To reveal such plantings, a comprehensive program of research would need to be conducted across the state in the archives of local historical societies for ‘offline’ sources. Then site visits to verify their existence would need to be conducted. After the planting at Eurack on 28 July 1916, Victorian schools continued to plant avenues of honour within their grounds and at nearby locations on Arbor Days during and immediately after the war (for example Lower Homebush). Local communities also planted avenues in places of civic prominence such as roads entering towns. Two well known civic avenues are the Ballarat Avenue of Honour (1917) and Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour (1918).

The Form of Commemorative Plantings Although the Education Department recommended that schools plant ‘Anzac Avenues’, the form of plantings was variable. At Logan an ‘Anzac Clump’ was planted and Elmore called theirs an ‘Anzac Plantation’. The planting at Eurack was a single row (not an avenue) and a circle of trees was planted at Maldon in 1916. Other schools planted single trees. It took some time for the standard Avenue form of two parallel rows to consolidate.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 5 There is evidence that the commemorative planting at East Bendigo consisted of a total of 27 sugar gums in the form of an Avenue of Honour lining the path (consisting of a possible maximum of 14 trees) and 13 additional trees planted on the perimeter of the school grounds along Strickland Road, Murphy Street and the Scout Hall block. Of the 27 trees, 23 were planted before 1920, and 4 were planted after 1920. An ‘Anzac Tree’ and the ‘Lone Pine’ planted by Lieutenant Dyett in 1916. It is unclear whether these were part of the 27 trees or additional to them.

DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

School Building The school is a single storey, red brick building on granite base, with slate roof. Built as a two classroom school, the front façade of the building is asymmetrical with a side entrance porch. A rendered parapet above this entrance porch contains a pediment containing the information ‘1915 East Bendigo School No 3893’. Avenue of Honour and Commemorative trees No original plan of the planting survives. The Avenue of Honour appears to have been planted on both sides of a path that extends from the school building entrance to the front gate on Strickland Road. Of the 23 trees planted at East Bendigo in 1916 and the 4 planted after 1920 (totalling 27), the following survive: Avenue of Honour (From an estimated possible maximum of 14 trees)  Two sugar gum trees.  One red ironbark. This is likely to be an old replacement tree planted over 60 years ago.  One sugar gum stump (cut at ground level)  One dead sugar gum (2.5 metres high). Other commemorative trees planted in the school grounds (From an estimated total of 13 trees)  4 sugar gums.

ASSESSSMENT NOTE

This assessment has been undertaken on the available historical and physical evidence at the present time. Based on the measurements of the Avenue, has been presumed that a maximum of 14 sugar gums (7 each side) were planted. Based on the existence of sugar gums of similar aged and size around the boundary of the school grounds, it has been presumed that these are the remaining 13 commemorative trees (see pages 12‐13 and Site Diagram 2 – Table of Trees). There are some aspects that require further research. For example, it is known that a ‘Lone Pine’ and an ‘Anzac Tree’ were planted in the school grounds on Arbor Day in 1916. It is unclear what species these were, whether they were part of the Avenue of Honour or the other commemorative plantings in the school grounds.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 6 RECOMMENDATION REASONS

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDING INCLUSION IN THE VICTORIAN HERITAGE REGISTER [s.34A(2)] Following is the Executive Director's assessment of the place against the tests set out in The Victorian Heritage Register Criteria and Thresholds Guidelines (2014).

CRITERION A Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history.

STEP 1: A BASIC TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION A The place/object has a CLEAR ASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, custom or way of life in Victoria’s cultural history. Plus The association of the place/object to the event, phase, etc IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object and/or in documentary resources or oral history. Plus The EVENT, PHASE, etc is of HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, having made a strong or influential contribution to Victoria.

Executive Director’s Response

The first known and widely publicised commemorative planting in Melbourne occurred on 25 April 1916 (the first Anzac Day) in the Domain. See image on page 32. It inspired communities across Victoria to consider such commemorative plantings. On 18 May 1916, the Education Department issued a notice to all schools to plant ‘Anzac Avenues’ of native trees on Arbor Day. The first program of plantings occurred between June and July 1916 according to a weekly schedule of dates for each region in Victoria. The association of the Avenue of Honour to World War I is well documented in newspapers, although no early images have been found. Criterion A is likely to be satisfied.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 7 STEP 2: A BASIC TEST FOR DETERMINING STATE LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE FOR CRITERION A The place/object allows the clear association with the event, phase etc. of historical importance to be UNDERSTOOD BETTER THAN MOST OTHER PLACES OR OBJECTS IN VICTORIA WITH SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME ASSOCIATION.

Executive Director’s Response The claim that the East Bendigo Avenue of Honour was ‘the first’ avenue of honour planted in Victoria is incorrect. Prior to the planting of the East Bendigo Avenue, four known avenues were planted on Arbor Day in the Northwast on 9 June 1916 (Lawler, Logan, Maidavale, South Cannum), and one on Arbor Day on 15 June (Teal Point). The East Bendigo Avenue of Honour was one of thirteen known avenues planted on 16 June (Barker's Creek, California Gully, East Bendigo, Elmore, Elphinstone, Heywood, Mitiamo, Myers Creek, Nanneella West, Napoleons, Raywood, Sebastian, Tarrawingee). See Table 1.

The East Bendigo Avenue was part of a wider program of planting in which prescribed dates were given to schools according to their region. In this context, the significance of the notion of ‘the first’ becomes diminished. The East Bendigo Avenue was not influential or an inspiration to other schools. It was one of many avenues that were planted around the same time which took a lead from an Education Department recommendation made equally to all schools. Caution should be exercised when claiming that any Avenue of Honour was ‘the first’ planted. Debates about chronology have surrounded this form of memorial. On 18 April 1918 a letter writer to the Argus declared that ‘the first avenue of honour was begun… at Ballarat’. Another writer on 30 April stated that the first was planted at Eurack in May 1916 – an incorrect date. It should also be noted that the East Bendigo Avenue of Honour was only formally recognised as an Anzac Avenue in 2015. Prior to that its history had largely been forgotten within the community. It is not uncommon for a community to lose touch with the particular cultural heritage significance of commemorative plantings from World War I. If the trees are in poor condition, some have been removed, there are no plaques and/or the avenue form is not clear, it is understandable that the association with an event 100 years ago can be lost. This is particularly true of avenues planted in remote regional areas whose populations have diminished over time. The research to ‘re‐discover’ the Avenue of Honour at East Bendigo is to be commended. Further research may well uncover that extant plantings still exist from the Arbor Day on 9 June allocated to the Northwestern region in 1916, or Arbor Day on 15 June. There may be other similar plantings yet to be revealed as avenues of honour – some may have been planted earlier than East Bendigo. These may be more intact and demonstrate a clearer association with the Avenues of Honour phenomenon. Further research, time and resources would be needed to establish, identify and verify other avenues.

The East Bendigo Avenue of Honour does not allow the clear association with the Avenues of Honour phenomenon to be understood better than most other places or objects in Victoria with substantially the same association. The Avenue:  retains only two trees, one stump, one dead tree, one replacement tree.  is difficult to read and interpret as a commemorative planting.  the associated plaques have been removed.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 8

This contrasts with the Eurack Avenue of Honour (H2102) which offers a strong example of the 1916 Education Department planting initiative. Although planted six weeks after East Bendigo, it is highly intact, retains plaques and is extremely readable as a commemorative planting. Four trees have been replanted since 2011 which is not uncommon when original trees reach the end of their life. Eurack remains the most intact Avenue of Honour in Victoria from the early mid‐1916 period known to exist at this point in time. While the remnant trees from East Bendigo pre‐date Eurack, the loss of 11 of 14 Avenue of Honour trees has resulted in a substantial loss of integrity. There is only evidence that one tree has been replanted since 1916.

Apart from Eurack and East Bendigo, trees from the 30 June 1916 Avenue of Honour at Ceres also survive. Further research is necessary to identify other Education Department plantings from mid‐ 1916 and verify their survival.

Criterion A is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.

CRITERION B Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria’s cultural history.

STEP 1: A BASIC TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION B The place/object has a clear ASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, custom or way of life of importance in Victoria’s cultural history. Plus The association of the place/object to the event, phase, etc IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object and/or in documentary resources or oral history. Plus The place/object is RARE OR UNCOMMON, being one of a small number of places/objects remaining that demonstrates the important event, phase etc. OR The place/object is RARE OR UNCOMMON, containing unusual features of note that were not widely replicated OR The existence of the class of place/object that demonstrates the important event, phase etc is ENDANGERED to the point of rarity due to threats and pressures on such places/objects.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 9 Executive Director’s Response

A significant number of Avenues of Honour, of varying intactness and integrity, remain throughout Victoria. They are not uncommon or rare. The East Bendigo Avenue of Honour:  does not contain unusual features of note that were not widely replicated.  is not part of a class that is endangered to the point of rarity due to threats and pressures on such places. The Education Department recommended the use of native Australian tree species for the 1916 plantings and therefore a large number of these Anzac memorial plantings comprised native species. The avenue at East Bendigo was not unusual in its use of native species in the avenue. It is difficult to ascertain how many school plantings from 1916 remain intact throughout the state. Trees remain from the mid‐1916 program at Eurack and Ceres. It is possible that other avenues or remnants – possibly earlier than East Bendigo – are yet to be discovered. There are other Anzac school plantings from Arbor Days from subsequent years which demonstrate a higher level of intactness and a clearer association with the Anzac Avenue program in schools. These include avenues at the Lower Homebush School (c.1916‐18), Buchan South Public School (1920), Merrigum School (1918) and Tambo Upper Primary School (c.1918). Criterion B is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.

CRITERION D Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects.

STEP 1: A BASIC TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION D The place/object is one of a CLASS of places/objects that has a clearASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, important person(s), custom or way of life in Victoria’s history. Plus The EVENT, PHASE, etc is of HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, having made a strong or influential contribution to Victoria. Plus The principal characteristics of the class are EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 10 Executive Director’s Response

1) The School Building is one of a class of places that is associated with the history of education in Victoria. The principal characteristics of a rural primary school are evident in the physical fabric of the place. 2) The Avenue of Honour is one of a class of places that is associated with the history of commemorative plantings during and after World War I. Criterion D is likely to be satisfied.

STEP 2: A BASIC TEST FOR DETERMINING STATE LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE FOR CRITERION D The place/object is a NOTABLE EXAMPLE of the class in Victoria (refer to Reference Tool D).

Executive Director’s Response

1) The East Bendigo Primary School building is one of a number built in this period. It is not a notable example of this class of place in Victoria. 2) The Avenue of Honour is one of many avenues that is associated with the history of commemorative plantings during and after World War I. It is not a notable example of this class of place in Victoria. Criterion D is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.

CRITERION E Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics.

STEP 1: A BASIC TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION E The PHYSICAL FABRIC of the place/object clearly exhibits particular aesthetic characteristics.

Executive Director’s Response The East Bendigo Avenue of Honour is aesthetically unremarkable. It does not exhibit particular aesthetic characteristics. A number of avenues of honour throughout the state can be identified as having high aesthetic significance. For example the Avenue of Honour, Kingston is aesthetically significant as an outstanding planting of predominantly Dutch elm (Ulmus x hollandica) which is an extensive, largely intact and highly distinctive commemorative planting. The planting of 285 trees (originally 286 trees) on both sides of the road produces a dramatic and continuous avenue, which contrasts markedly with the pastoral surroundings. The avenue is an impressive and imposing visual and cultural landmark and a key landscape feature of the district.

The avenue at East Bendigo does not retain high aesthetic value. Criterion E is not likely to be satisfied.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 11 CRITERION G Strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. This includes the significance of a place to indigenous people as part of their continuing and developing cultural traditions.

STEP 1: A BASIC TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION G Evidence exists of a DIRECT ASSOCIATION between the place/object and a PARTICULAR COMMUNITY OR CULTURAL GROUP. (For the purpose of these guidelines, ‘COMMUNITY or CULTURAL GROUP’ is defined as a sizable group of persons who share a common and long‐standing interest or identity). Plus The ASSOCIATION between the place/object and the community or cultural group is STRONG OR SPECIAL, as evidenced by the regular or long‐term use of/engagement with the place/object or the enduring ceremonial, ritual, commemorative, spiritual or celebratory use of the place/object.

Executive Director’s Response

The East Bendigo Primary School and Avenue of Honour has some social significance for its association with students, veterans and their descendants. A number of these families live in the district. The association between the place and the community is not strong or special. There is no evidence of the regular or long‐term engagement with the place or the enduring ceremonial, ritual, commemorative, spiritual or celebratory use of the place.

Criterion G is not likely to be satisfied.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 12 ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE [s.34A(2)(d)]

The Former Primary School & Avenue of Honour at East Bendigo does not warrant inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register because it is not of cultural heritage significance at the state level. The Executive Director makes no comment on the potential local level cultural heritage significance of the Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour, East Bendigo and its value within the wider Bendigo community. That is a matter to be decided in relation to the provisions of the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

DESCRIPTION

School Building The school is a single storey, red brick building on granite base, with slate roof. These materials were reportedly reused from nearby powder magazine buildings which were demolished at the time of construction. Built as a two classroom school, the front façade of the building is asymmetrical with a side entrance porch. A rendered parapet above this entrance porch contains a pediment containing the information ‘1915 East Bendigo School No 3893’. The main roof comprises two offset hipped roof sections with exposed rafter ends. The upper portion of the building is of rough cast render with brick quoined corners. Large sets of double hung windows at the front of the building are multi‐paned and simple rectangular chimneys are of rough cast render with simple contrasting rectangular features. A verandah originally lined the width of the north rear of the school building and this has been enclosed with weatherboards to create more internal space. The western wall contains two rows of protruding bricks which were part of the original construction. These were included to enable future duplication of the facilities.

Avenue of Honour, School Grounds and Commemorative trees The Avenue of Honour runs on both sides of a path that extends from the school building entrance to the front gate on Strickland Road. Of the 23 trees planted at East Bendigo in 1916 and the 4 planted after 1920 (totalling 27), the following survive: Avenue of Honour (From an estimated possible maximum of 14 trees)  Two sugar gum trees.  One red ironbark. This is likely to be an old replacement tree planted over 60 years ago.  One sugar gum stump (cut at ground level)  One dead sugar gum (2.5 metres high).

It should be noted that there is one yellow gum along the Avenue path but it does not fit within the pattern of the Avenue planting. Other commemorative trees planted in the school grounds (From an estimated total of 13 trees)  4 sugar gums.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 13 Within the Avenue of Honour there is evidence to suggest that the original commemorative sugar gums were planted at regular intervals of 23 feet 6 inches in rows along both sides of the path. There is a 21 feet distance between the rows. The number of name plaques produced, and now held at the RSL, indicates that the avenue at some stage comprised 27 trees, rather than the 23 planted before 1920. At the regular spacing of 23 feet 6 inches the largest number of trees possible in each row are 7. This means that the avenue consisted of a maximum total of 14 trees. There is evidence that the remaining 13 trees (of the 27) were planted on other positions within the school grounds. The 1967 aerial photo indicates that plantings of sugar gums took place along the school boundaries with Strickland Road, Murphy Street and the Scout Hall block.

The trunk circumference of tree 1 is 2.61 metres at 1.4 metres above ground level. While the trunk circumference of tree 4 (the dead trunk) is 2.4 metres. Other comparative sized and aged sugar gums on the site are trees 3, 7, 8, 16 and 17 and dead tree 14 and stumps 2, 11, 13 and 15. See Site Diagram 2 – Table of Trees.

There is also evidence that at one time there were class garden beds in the grounds with conglomerate stone edging beneath.

RELEVANT INFORMATION

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY Greater Bendigo City Council

HERITAGE LISTING INFORMATION  Heritage Overlay: No  Other listing: No

HISTORY East Bendigo School The locality of East Bendigo was growing by the mid‐1910s through the establishment of industry and the extension of irrigation. The site selected for the new school covered over 1.6 hectares (4 acres) on the north side of Strickland Road. Powder magazine buildings located in the vicinity were demolished at the time. Interestingly the old materials (bricks, granite foundations and slates) were used to construct the new school building. Tenders were called for construction of a new brick State school in East Bendigo in March 1915. The Bendigonian on 30 March 1915 provided a detailed description of the proposed site and building. The building was constructed as a two room school with facility to duplicate the building to the east as the need arose. This intended duplication was never undertaken.

The East Bendigo school was officially opened by Mr Frank Tate, Director of Education, on 7 April 1916. The average attendance at this time was 60 pupils. Two months later, on 16 June 1916, Arbor Day was celebrated at the school with the planting of an Anzac Avenue to commemorate the landing of the Anzac soldiers at Gallipoli. It was noted that the Mayor, Cr Beebe, planted the first tree and parents and visitors planted others. A garden was also formed and planted with shrubs.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 14 On 26 April 1917 the Bendigo Advertiser reported that Anzac Day was celebrated at the school round the ‘Anzac’ tree and the ‘Lone Pine’ tree, planted in the school grounds in 1916 by Lt Dyett. Presumably these were planted on 16 June 1916 in addition to the Anzac Avenue. In June 1917 Arbor Day was celebrated again. It was reported that within the preceding year, the grounds, which had been destitute of vegetation, had been made attractive by an avenue of trees and flowers and trees which had been planted around the grounds and in groups [Bendigo Advertiser, 16 June 1917.] During 1917 an Anzac wattle was also referred to in correspondence.

On 11 December 1920 the Anzac Avenue at the East Bendigo School was officially opened. It was stated at the time that an avenue had been planted from the street gate to the main entrance, that many of the trees were growing vigorously while others came on stony ground. Many gathered to attend the ceremony of naming the trees. It was reported that since the announcement to name the trees in the school’s Anzac Avenue many more names of district soldiers had been forwarded, and it was intended to plant and name additional trees the following Arbor Day. At the official 1920 opening embossed copper plates, mounted on wood, were then fixed in front of the trees in memory of twenty three soldiers.

Twenty‐seven plaques were actually made and these were removed from the individual trees at some stage before 1964, mounted on a board and displayed in the school. These are now located and displayed at the RSL, Bendigo. Correspondence the following year suggested that trees were added to the school grounds and the gardens enlarged. The school moved to a new location c1999 and the site was vacant for a period of time. In 2007 two areas of land were rezoned and the freehold sold, then re‐sold in 2012. Some vegetation was removed in 2014.

Avenues of Honour

From the 1850s, there was a civic movement in Australia to create parks, gardens and tree‐lined streets in order to beautify and improve the amenity of towns. This was strengthened with the introduction of Arbor Day in Australia in 1889, a day when coordinated tree plantings took place in local communities. These days were very popular in rural communities and local school children were often involved in the plantings. Tree plantings of a commemorative nature also took place in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Trees were often planted in public spaces by both local and visiting dignitaries at official ceremonies to commemorate special occasions such as royal events and the opening of new buildings. From the mid‐nineteenth century, royal tours to Australia often included the planting of commemorative trees.

Since the early 1900s, commemorative avenues of trees have been planted in Australia and internationally to honour those who have served in wartime. Becoming commonly known as 'avenues of honour', they were first known to have been planted in Victoria at Horsham and Apsley to the west of the state in 1902, to commemorate soldiers who fought in the Boer War. During and after World War I, avenues of honour were particularly popular in Victoria with over 200 memorial avenues planted throughout the state. Victoria has the largest number of avenues of honour of any state or territory in Australia.

During World War I (1914‐18) avenues of honour became an important way for local communities in Australia to commemorate the sacrifice of their servicemen and women. World War I had an

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 15 immense impact on Australia, more than any other event since British settlement, with over 200,000 Australians killed or injured in just four years. This tragedy pervaded all communities and resulted in commemoration in a number of different ways. This included honour boards, war memorial statues and monuments and the planting of trees to form an avenue of honour, with each tree planted to commemorate a person who served, no matter their rank.

Considered a symbol of hope for the future, trees had the additional benefit of beautifying towns and the surrounding countryside, particularly in Australia where the landscape was regarded as being largely undeveloped. The majority of avenues of honour were planted along major roads where they received maximum public exposure and their distinctive form became important aesthetic elements along the main roads of small towns in country Victoria. A range of different tree species were used, more commonly exotic species such as elms, oaks and cypress, and occasionally native species such as eucalypts.

Avenues of Honour were particularly popular in Victoria and the highest number of avenues were planted in this state, estimated at over 200 (from World War I). Each avenue typically commemorated all those who enlisted in an egalitarian manner, and a tree was planted for each individual, regardless of rank, to recognise their service. Unlike most types of memorials, the planting of a commemorative avenue of trees enabled entire communities to become involved in commemorating those involved in the war. The avenues were symbols of a national cause of commemoration but also allowed individual communities to express their local identity and independence. Together with honour boards, this form of memorial allowed communities to create immediate memorials, and avenues preceded the erection of war‐related monuments and statues, often by a significant number of years. A high level of community participation was generally required for both raising funds and planting the trees. Trees were often donated and planted by voluntary labour and as part of a local civic ceremony. The local council and progress association were often the instigators of the projects and many meetings included discussions to determine the location of the avenue, the tree type, the form of tree guard and the provision, type and arrangement of name plaques. Local councils often contributed financially to the avenue and frequently the community was also asked to contribute. Once the location was decided, numerous working bees were held to prepare for the final planting of the trees. The local Red Cross societies were involved in providing refreshments for these occasions. The first known and widely publicised commemorative planting in Melbourne occurred on 25 April 1916 (the first Anzac Day) in the Domain. Seven trees were planted in memory of the Gallipoli landing, although not in the form of an avenue. These trees are no longer extant, and may possibly have been removed during landscaping works for the Shrine of Remembrance 1927‐34. The 1916 planting was reported widely and inspired other communities in Victoria to consider such plantings.

Following the Domain planting, on 18 May 1916 the Education Department published a notice in its publication, Victoria Education Gazette And Teachers' Aid, recommending that all schools plant avenues of native trees, such as eucalypts and wattles, on Arbor Day to commemorate the Gallipoli landing. The Department issued a schedule of weekly Arbor Days across six regions in the state on 9 June, 16 June, 23 June, 30 June, 7 July and 14 July 1916. The allocated date determined which schools planted the first avenues of honour in the Anzac Avenue program. There was an immediate and widespread response to this at schools with many undertaking Anzac plantings. These were well recorded in local newspapers at the time as significant events. (See Table 1 for a chronology of

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 16 school plantings). The Department suggested that if there was not room in the school playground then planting could be carried out in a public reserve or alongside a road in the vicinity of the school. Although the Education Department recommended that schools plant ‘Anzac Avenues’, the form of plantings was variable. At Logan an ‘Anzac Clump’ was planted and Elmore called theirs an ‘Anzac Plantation’. The planting at Eurack was a single row (not an avenue) and a circle of trees was planted at Maldon. Other schools planted single trees. It took some time for the standard Avenue of Honour form of two parallel rows to consolidate. The largest Avenue of Honour in Victoria was planted at Ballarat (VHR H2089) from 1917 to 1919. This avenue comprised over 3000 trees of various species which were planted to commemorate the soldiers and some nurses from the district who served their country. This avenue appeared to influence other communities in the surrounding districts to plant similar avenues. During the war, Avenues of Honour acted as an encouragement for men to enlist as much as commemorating the service and sacrifice of those at the front. In 1917 the State Recruiting Committee of Victoria wrote to all municipalities and shires recommending that an assurance should be given to every intending recruit that 'his name will be memorialised in an Avenue of Honour'. After World War II Avenues of Honour were less popular as a form of commemoration. However some existing avenues were extended after the war and a small number of avenues were planted. Commemoration after World War II was more commonly utilitarian, with the building of memorial halls and swimming pools and the planting of gardens in Victoria. The Avenues that were planted included the Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue (VHR H1975) which was planted along the Goulburn Valley Highway between 1945 and 1949 by Mr J L F Woodburn as a memorial to his son Calder and other local servicemen who did not return from the war. It comprised a total planting of 2,457 Australian native trees. A very small number of commemorative avenues were planted in association with later wars such as the Vietnam War.

During the twentieth century, over 300 avenues of honour have been planted in Victoria to commemorate service personnel. The majority of these, over 200, were planted as World War I memorials between 1917 and 1921. This compares with significantly fewer avenues in other Australian states, with well less than this number planted in the other states combined.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS Construction started date: 1915 (school) 1916 (avenue of honour)

VICTORIAN HISTORICAL THEMES

06 Building towns, cities and the garden state 6.5 Living in country towns

08 Building community life 8.2 Educating people 8.5 Preserving traditions and commemorating

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 17 INTEGRITY/INTACTNESS (AS AT 13 OCTOBER 2015) Intactness School Building Avenue of Honour

Very good. The school building is reasonably Low. Of the 23 trees planted at East Bendigo in intact and retains its main features including the 1916 and the 4 planted after 1920 (totalling 27), sign over the front entrance. the following survive: Avenue of Honour (From an estimated possible maximum of 14 trees)  Two sugar gum trees.  One red ironbark. This is likely to be an old replacement tree planted over 60 years ago.  One sugar gum stump (cut at ground level)  One dead sugar gum (2.5 metres high). Other commemorative trees planted in the school grounds (From an estimated total of 13 trees)  4 sugar gums.

Integrity School Building Avenue of Honour Very good. The school building can be read for Low. Only 2 original trees and 1 replacement its cultural heritage values. tree out of an estimated 14 trees survive in the Avenue of Honour. It is difficult to read them coherently as an avenue of honour. 4 out of an estimated 13 commemorative trees survive in the school grounds.

CONDITION (AS AT 13 OCTOBER 2015) School Building Avenue of Honour The School Building is in good condition. The surviving trees in the Avenue of Honour and school grounds range from dead, fair to good condition.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 18 COMPARISONS School Buildings A large number of primary school buildings in suburban and country Victoria are included in the Victorian Heritage Register. The majority were built in the 1870s and 1880s, the period after the Education Department of Victoria was established in 1873. Other buildings date from the early twentieth century when many new schools were constructed and existing schools expanded to cope with increasing numbers of children.

Infant Building and Shelter Shed, Primary School No 484, Bell Street, Coburg (VHR H1709) The infant building and shelter shed at Coburg Primary School were constructed c 1910. Built in a Federation style and designed by PWD architect G W Watson, the infant building at Coburg displays Art Nouveau characteristics. It is a red brick building with parapet entrance, large central assembly hall and surrounding classrooms. The front entry and hall contain leadlight windows, and decorative relief panels with native flora and flora line the parapet above the main entry. The hall has an unusual variation of ceiling type with a timber double cove section and decorative tie rods and square ceiling vents. A large octagonal timber shelter shed with tiled roof is located in the grounds behind the building. It has an unusual internal umbrella structure, tiled roof, lattice side infill panels and coat hooks. The school is of historical importance as an illustration of a change in educational methods in Victoria during the early years of the twentieth century when efforts were made to provide buildings to serve the particular needs of very young children. The infant building and the shelter shed are of architectural significance as an example of an early twentieth century infant school with unusual decorative elements and as a large shelter shed with unusual umbrella structure.

Infant building and shelter shed, Primary School, Coburg

Auburn Primary School No 2948 (VHR H1707) The first school building was opened at Auburn Primary School in 1890 and an addition made in 1901. A separate infant building was constructed in 1913. The main school is an asymmetrical polychrome brick building featuring elaborate traceried gables on the front and side facades and a conical tower over its portico entry. Four of the upstairs classrooms retain their coved ceilings and square decorative ceiling vents. The red brick infant school has a central hall with surrounding classrooms and entry lobby. The hall has a polished timber hammerbeam ceiling and contains leadlight windows featuring Australian birds. The grounds also include a small timber hexagonal shelter shed constructed c1910 and two rectangular timber shelter sheds c1920 and c1930. The

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 19 intact complex of buildings at Auburn Primary School are of historical importance for their demonstration of numerous aspects of school life in Victoria. The main school building and the infant building are of architectural importance for demonstrating many distinctive features, including elaborate tracery, hammerbeam ceilings, decorative vents and Australian decorative motifs.

Avenues of Honour In total there are ten Avenues of Honour included in the VHR. Place VHR Number Date Planted 1 Bacchus Marsh VHR H2238 1918 2 Ballarat VHR H2089 1917 3 Cranbourne VHR H2345 1918 4 Eurack VHR H2102 1916 5 Former Mont Park Hospital, MacLeod Part of VHR H1872 1919 6 Kingston VHR H2343 1918 7 Macedon VHR H2344 1918 8 Mortlake VHR H2342 1919 9 Shepparton (Calder Woodburn, WWII) VHR H1975 1945 10 Woodend VHR H2066 1918

The only school‐related Avenue of Honour in the VHR is the Avenue at Eurack (a single row planting) from mid‐1916 Education Department planting program. The Avenue at Eurack has, until recently, erroneously been thought to be the earliest (surviving) WWI commemorative planting in Victoria.

Eurack Avenue of Honour VHR H2102 (school related) The Eurack Avenue of Honour is a World War I memorial on Eurack Road commemorating 26 soldiers from the district who enlisted for the war. Although it was planted about two months after that at East Bendigo, it was part of the mid‐1916 program of Anzac Avenue plantings in Victorian schools. The avenue is a single row of 20 Ulmus x hollandica (Dutch Elm) planted along the south side of Eurack Road. The Avenue was due to be planted on 30 June 1916 (the designated Arbor Day at Eurack) but not planted until Friday 28 July 1916 due to the non‐arrival of trees. It was located in front of the Eurack School, general store, post office and church, the centre of the small settlement that sprang up after the Eurack Estate was subdivided for closer settlement in 1891. Each tree is marked with a stylised white painted concrete cross bearing the name of the soldier/s it

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 20 commemorates inscribed on a black marble plate. The original plaques were put in place at a ceremony in December 1918 (Cressy & Lismore Pioneer & Western Plains Representative, 18 Dec 1918. P.3). Six of the trees are dedicated to brothers. One of the crosses commemorates Lord Kitchener, the British Secretary of State for War who was killed in 1916 when HMS Hampshire struck a mine en route to Russia. Three trees were replaced in 2011 and a tree added to the avenue in 2014, replacing a tree which had been removed a number of years ago and never replaced. A new plaque was cast for this tree and added to the avenue.

The Eurack Avenue of Honour planted on 28 July 1916 is historically significant as one of the earliest known of this form of war memorial in Victoria. It is also significant for exemplifying rural Victoria's reaction to World War I. It is representative of plantings that first appeared in Australia during World War I commemorating all those who enlisted for service in an egalitarian form where each individual, regardless of rank, was equally recognised for their service. The Avenue has significance for its commemoration of Lord Kitchener. The Eurack Avenue of Honour is of aesthetic significance as an intact and distinctive commemorative planting. The uniform plantings of the trees and the stark concrete crosses in their isolated surroundings combine to create an imposing cultural landscape.

Eurack Avenue of Honour (planted July 1916) Plaque at the Eurack Avenue of Honour,

Apart from Eurack, there are no other Avenues of Honour in school grounds or planted by school children in the Victorian Heritage Register.

Ceres Avenue/Commemorative Planting (school related) – not included in the VHR The Avenue of Honour/commemorative trees at Ceres was planted by school children on 30 June 1916 at the recreation reserve because there was no room at the school (like Eurack). The Education Department designated 30 June as Arbor Day for schools in the Geelong area in 1916. The first tree was dedicated to Lord Kitchener. This planting occurred two weeks after East Bendigo. Further research is needed on this commemorative planting.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 21

Commemorative plantings at Ceres were undertaken by school children around the perimeter of the Recreation Reserve on 30 June 1916. A number of trees still survive. Photo November 2015.

Lower Homebush State School Avenue of Honour (school related) – not included in the VHR This Avenue of Honour is a later example (c1917‐21 ) of a Education Department school planting which is highly intact. The Avenue comprises a single row of twelve Sugar Gum trees (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) planted in the grounds of the Lower Homebush State School, running parallel to the entrance driveway on the north side of the school building. The trees are known to have been pollarded and otherwise cut back at various times since (at least) 1953. This row of mature Sugar Gum trees can still be clearly interpreted as an Avenue of Honour.

The Avenue of Honour at the Lower Homebush State School planted c.1917‐21.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 22 Other Avenues of Honour (school related) It should be noted that there are other highly intact school Avenue of Honour plantings (not included in the VHR) at the Buchan South Public School in Gippsland, c1920, and the Tambo Upper State School planted c.1918. The existence of the Tambo Upper avenue was re‐discovered in 1997 and an interpretative display was established.

Other Avenues of Honour (non‐school related) The remaining Avenues of Honour in the VHR were established by the community and local councils and were generally located on approach roads near towns or in the towns themselves. None of these avenues used native species of trees but planted varieties of elm and oak, and Monterey Cypress. They contained various numbers of trees from about 60 at Cranbourne to over 3,000 at Ballarat.

Ballarat Avenue of Honour (VHR H2089) The Ballarat Avenue of Honour is the longest commemorative avenue in Victoria. It is an early World War I commemorative avenue, begun in 1917 and completed in 1919, and it influenced the subsequent planting of a large number of avenues of honour throughout central Victoria. The avenue, memorial to the people of Ballarat and the surrounding district who enlisted in World War I, was a planting of some 3,771 trees along 22 kilometres of the Ballarat‐Burrumbeet Road. The trees are predominantly elms and poplars (and several other species). An associated Arch of Victory, constructed in 1920, marks the beginning of the Avenue of Honour at the eastern end. The Avenue of Honour and the Arch of Victory were officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 3 June 1920.

The Avenue of Honour was initiated by Mrs W. D. Thompson, a director of the local clothing firm E. Lucas & Company. Funds were raised by 500 women known as the ‘Lucas girls’ who were employed in the factory and one tree was planted for each enlisted person from June 1917. Planting was undertaken by Lucas staff, with the support of local farmers, in eight phases until completion in June 1919. The trees were numbered and allocated to individuals as close as possible to their order of enlistment, beginning at the Ballarat end. Original plaques were replaced by permanent bronze plaques at the base of each tree in 1934 and a large number of these remain.

Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour (VHR H2238) The Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour is a long avenue which extends approximately 2.9 kilometres along the Bacchus Marsh Road to the east of Bacchus Marsh. It contains a combination of 281 Dutch elms (Ulmus x hollandica) and Huntington elms (Ulmus x hollandica 'Vegeta') planted in pairs. The Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour was planted in 1918 to commemorate those locals

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 23 who volunteered to serve in World War I. Copper embossed name plaques were arranged in alphabetical order along the avenue and a number of the original plaques are held in storage at the Shire Offices.

The Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour is aesthetically significant for the dramatic, continuous and unbroken cathedral‐like arching of the canopy, making it one of the most distinctive elm avenues in Victoria. The trees form a visually impressive colonnade effect in all seasons. The regular spacing and pairing of trees on either side of the road is a strong design element reflecting the dual purposes of commemoration and amenity enhancement. These design elements contribute to the Avenue of Honour being a cultural landmark at entrance of Bacchus Marsh. The Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour is of historic significance for the egalitarian treatment of the individuals commemorated by each tree within the Avenue. The name plaques associated with each tree are arranged in alphabetical order along the Avenue of Honour, keeping families together and symbolising the idea that each individual's contribution to the war effort was equally important, regardless of rank.

Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour

Comparison Summary Summary School building The East Bendigo Primary School Building is architecturally unremarkable and of a less distinctive design when compared with school buildings constructed in a similar period in the Victorian Heritage Register.

Avenue of Honour Avenues of Honour are an important form of memorial to those who served in various wars, particularly World War I. A large number of these avenues of honour remain in Victoria, varying in date, size, tree species, location and intactness and as memorials they are of historical significance. A number of these avenues of trees are also of aesthetic significance as extensive, intact and distinctive plantings. The East Bendigo Avenue of Honour (16 June 1916) was amongst the earliest WWI commemorative plantings undertaken in Victoria. It was planted as part of a schools program instigated as an Arbor Day activity by the Education Department in May 1916. Earlier plantings, however, are recorded on 9 June and 15 June. It is unclear whether remnants of these earlier plantings survive or whether more will be discovered. This is worthy of further research.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 24 Although one of the earliest plantings, the East Bendigo Avenue of Honour is not an outstanding and intact Avenue of Honour. The loss of 11 of 14 trees in the avenue has resulted in a substantial loss of integrity. It is difficult to read and interpret as an Avenue of Honour. It is not a particularly extensive or distinctive living memorial to those who served their country in World War I.

KEY REFERENCES USED TO PREPARE ASSESSMENT Blake, L J Vision and Realisation: a Centenary History of State Education in Victoria. Melbourne 1973 Cockerell, S ‘Summary of the history and state of Australia’s Avenues of Honour’, Unpublished Thesis, 2007 Education Gazette and Teachers’ Aid, 1916‐19 Haddow, J ‘Avenues of Honour in Victoria’, University of Melbourne 1987 Heritage Alliance, Lower Homebush State School No. 2258, Conservation Management Plan, November 2006 National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Database Rowe, D ‘War related heritage in Victoria: a report; Botanic features: Avenues of Honour’, Dept Planning and Community Development, Melbourne 2011 Taffe, M ‘Victoria's avenues of honour to the great war lost to the landscape’, Unpublished Honours Thesis, University of Melbourne, 2006 Trove newspaper reports including ‘Tree Planting: Ceremony in the Domain’, Argus, 26 April 1916, p. 7 Victorian War Heritage Inventory at www.vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/veterans Wadsley, J Planning and Heritage Consultancy, ‘Conservation Management Plan – Ballarat Avenue of Honour and Arch of Victory’, prepared for the City of Ballarat, 2014

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 25 ADDITIONAL IMAGES

Site Diagram 1 This diagram is a likely interpretation of the site based on available historical and physical evidence.

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 26 Site Diagram 2

This diagram is a likely interpretation of the site based on available historical and physical evidence.

Blue: Avenue of Honour Sugar Gums Green: Commemorative Sugar Gums Planted on School Grounds Red: Indigenous trees which not associated with commemorative plantings

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 27 Site Diagram 2 – Table of Trees  = Surviving living commemorative tree from 1916 (based on trunk circumference and species).

Avenue along Path No. Purpose Tree/stump Species 1916 Survivor 1 1916 Avenue tree Living tree Sugar Gum  2 1916 Avenue tree Stump (ground level, was alive Sugar Gum Stump only in 1967) 3 1916 Avenue tree Living tree Sugar Gum  4 1916 Avenue tree Stump (2.5 metres high) Sugar Gum Stump only 6 Avenue Replacement Living tree Red Ironbark Avenue replacement tree ()

Commemorative Trees Planted in School Grounds No. Purpose Tree/stump Species 1916 Survivor 7 1916 commemorative tree Living tree Sugar Gum  8 1916 commemorative tree Living tree Sugar Gum  10 1916 commemorative tree Missing was alive in 1967 Sugar Gum (Likely) 11 1916 commemorative tree Stump (Ground Level) Sugar Gum Stump only 12 1916 commemorative tree Missing was alive in 1967 Sugar Gum (likely) 13 1916 commemorative tree Stump (Ground Level) Sugar Gum Stump only 14 1916 commemorative tree Dead tree Sugar Gum 15 1916 commemorative tree Stump (with regrowth) Sugar Gum Stump only 16 1916 commemorative tree Living tree Sugar Gum  17 1916 commemorative tree Living tree Sugar Gum 

Trees in School Grounds (Not Commemorative) No. Purpose Tree/stump Species 5 Indigenous Living tree (not planted as part Yellow Gum of avenue form) 9 Indigenous Living tree (not a Yellow Gum commemorative tree) 13a Offspring of 13 Living tree (not a Sugar Gum commemorative tree) 18 Missing Missing was alive in 1967 Unknown (unlikely to be a commemorative tree) 19 Missing Missing was alive in 1967 Unknown (unlikely to be a commemorative tree) 20 Indigenous Living tree (not a Yellow Gum commemorative tree)

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 28 Detailed description of trees with images

Tree 1 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) lhs Girth at 1.4m, 2.61m

Stump rhs Tree 2, present 1967

Tree 3 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) rhs

Tree 4 dead 3m high stump lhs Girth at 1.4m, 2.24m

Tree 5 Eucalyptus leucoxylon , 2 trunks rhs, does not fit with 23’ 6’ spacing

Tree 6 Eucalyptus sideroxylon ‘Rosea’ (Ironbark) lhs. Probably a replacement planting, conforms with planting arrangement

Reverse view of above

Tree 2, stump Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) (present 1967 & 1980)

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 29 Tree 7 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) (Murphy Street boundary)

Tree 7 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) lhs (above)

Tree 8 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) centre (specimen)

Tree 9 Eucalyptus leucoxylon rhs (indigenous)

Tree 10 missing (present 1967 & 1980) Tree 11 stump (present 1967 & 1980) x4 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) saplings now surrounding Tree 12 missing (present 1967 & 1980)

Name: Former Primary School and Avenue of Honour Hermes Number: 5936 &197887 Page | 30 Tree 13 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) Strickland Road frontage Dead stump, present 1967 & 1980

Mature sapling below to NE, small in 1967

Tree 14 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) (dead) Strickland Road frontage and Scout Hall boundary

Tree 15 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) stump regrowth (beside toilet)

Tree 16 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) along fence at back

Tree 17 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (Sugar Gum) (specimen), centre tree 2 mature saplings at rear

All present 1967 Tree 18 missing (but present in 1967) Tree 19 missing (but present in 1967) Tree 20 Eucalyptus leucoxylon

Photographs date from 13 October 2015

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Notice in the Education Department, Education Gazette and Teachers’ Aid, 18 May 1916.

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View from school gate at Strickland Road up the Avenue of Honour path to the school building. Tree shown with red arrow is tree #6 Eucalyptus sideroxylon ‘Rosea’ (Ironbark) is probably a replacement planting from around 60 years ago.

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Concrete path leading from school entrance to Strickland Road with remnant trees from the Avenue of Honour. Note sugar gums planted towards the boundary of the school grounds. Location shown with blue arrow is #2 (a stump at ground level) which was alive in 1967.

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Entrance to the East Bendigo School.

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1967 Aerial Photograph

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1980 Aerial Photograph

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