General News
30 March, 2026
Lone Pine seedling planted
On Tuesday, March 24, Hopetoun P-12 College gathered to welcome our very own Lone Pine seedling, kindly donated by Jade Benham, the Nationals’ Member for Mildura.
This ceremony was incorporated into our Harmony Day activities, where we came together as a school to celebrate cultural diversity, alongside fostering social cohesion, inclusiveness, and respect. We acknowledged the concept of “everyone belongs” within the context of our military history.
Using our seedling as inspiration, I presented a discussion on how our national identity brings together people of many backgrounds, each with stories of joy, dedication, and sacrifice.
As part of the Gallipoli Campaign, the Battle of Lone Pine took place in early August 1915, aptly named for the ‘Lonesome Pine’ that grew on the site.
It was an Australian (and New Zealand) offensive designed to take and hold the Turkish line and to strategically draw their reserves away from action.
While the offensive initially seemed to be a success for our troops with their bayonet attack, this rapidly transitioned to fierce hand-to-hand fighting underground, in a maze of fortified trenches.
The Australians resisted the Turkish counterattacks for several days, eventually managing to capture the trenches.
This success was dampened by the fighting that saw the death of between five to six thousand Turkish soldiers and estimated 2,300 Australian soldiers.
Hence, the Battle of Lone Pine was the site of some of the bloodiest fighting on the Peninsula. This danger is vividly expressed by Private John Gammage, of 1st Battalion, who wrote:
The wounded bodies of both Turks and Anzacs were piled up 3 and 4 deep … the bombs simply poured in but as fast as our men went down another would take his place.
Today a pine tree still stands to mark the site of the battle, being planted in commemoration to stand watch over the Lone Pine Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing.
On this note, our seedling itself carries an interesting story, being a proper descendant of the Pinus Brutia line, from a seed of the Lone Pine located at the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens. Originally, it was Sergeant Keith McDowell who, after the intense fighting, picked up a pinecone from the site and brought it back to Australia.
After being nurtured by Emma Gray, the fourth seedling it produced was planted at the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens in 1934, where it still stands today, a distant symbol of the tree that protects the many who sacrificed their lives in service to their country.
The gift of this seedling prompted me to conduct some research and reflection on some local history, where I came across Garnet Albert Roy Brooks.
Born in Hopetoun, Victoria, in 1897, his schooling was conducted at Ballarat State School, and sometime after he relocated to Brunswick.
Before he enlisted on the 8th of February 1915, he was a watchmaker.
A Private in the 22nd Infantry Battalion, he was killed in action in Gallipoli on the 13th of October 1915.
He is buried in the Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli, and his name is memorialised in the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour and the City of Brunswick Honour Roll.
Garnet’s family epitaph reads: “He felt it was his duty, to take a noble part, there was no fear of danger, in his loyal and brave young heart, he left Australia in health and strength, not knowing death was near, or that he never would return, to the one that loved him dear.”
All in all, though we do not celebrate or condone violence, I believe the Battle of Lone Pine encapsulates attitudes that are worth acknowledging in our modern context - tenacity and resilience.
It was these character strengths that led to 7 Australians being awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest level of military decoration from Britian, and highest number ever awarded to an Australian division for one action.
So, just as I prompted our school community on the day, I encourage each of you reading this, to reflect on how, in the context of Harmony Day and the gift of this Lone Pine, that you may embody these ideals of tenacity and resilience in your day-to-day lives, and promote belonging in your own communities.
Thanks once again to Jade Benham for this generous gift.
We look forward to nurturing our Lone Pine and watching it grow on our wonderful Wotjobaluk Country.
– JESSICA O'LOGHLEN