Reprinted from Heidelberg Historian (newsletter of the Heidelberg Historical Society) June 1990 “Avenue of Honour”
On Monday 23 April 1990, some 250 people attended the unveiling of a memorial and the dedication of the Avenue of Honour in the Mont Park Grounds, near Cherry Street, Macleod. The plaque records the planting of the Avenue by World War I veterans in 1919, and honours the fallen of World Wars I and II and subsequent conflicts.
The ceremony at which there were a number of Society members, was attended by the Mayor of Heidelberg, Cr. L. Stephens who welcomed special guests, Mr. C. E. Sainsbury and Mr. M. G. Hevey, both of whom had served in World Wars I and II, and Col. B. P. O’Day, Commander of Simpson Barracks, who unveiled the memorial. Chaplains A. K. Toms and G. A. Watson dedicated the memorial, and flowers were placed on it by War Widows Mrs. J. Schaeche, and Mrs. J. Anderson, and Miss M. K. Tobin, a nurse in the Korean campaign on behalf of all nurses.
Trees were planted to honour the fallen of World War II and subsequent conflicts, and the Ode to the Fallen was read by Mr. H. K. Conway, President of the Heidelberg Subsection of the Naval Association of Australia. Music was provided by members of the Police Band, and the Last Post was sounded by a member of the Defence Force School of Music. The President of the Macleod Progress Association, Mr. H. R. Johnson, OAM was Master of Ceremonies, and he paid tribute to the many people and organisations who contributed to the cost of the memorial which included the Heidelberg Historical Society.
The Mont Park Mental Hospital was started in 1909 by the Victorian State Government, but when a hospital was needed urgently for injured men returning from World War I, the Federal Government took over the complex and completed the buildings for use as No. 16 Australian General Hospital, Mont Park, from 1916 to 1924. No. 1 Military Sanatorium and No. 14 Army Auxiliary Hospital were in buildings nearby. Thousands of returned men were cared for as 1200 were in residence at any one time.
Innovative treatments were needed for the new medical problems resulting from a different type of war. Massage (the beginning of physiotherapy), re-training, and occupational therapy were introduced. Great numbers of diverse classes were held and outdoor activities were encouraged.
Patients manned the dairy, and cared for poultry, and under instructions from the head gardener, Hugh Linaker who planned Mont Park gardens, maintained a plant nursery, planted and tended the garden, and kept the hospitals supplied with fruit and vegetables.
In 1919, in memory of their fallen mates, the patients grew from seed and planted the sugar gums which were called the Avenue of Honour. The street alongside was called Memorial Drive (now Cherry Street).
As no record could be found of a dedication ceremony, the Macleod Progress Association,
Seventy one years later, on the 75th Anniversary of Gallipoli, placed the memorial stone and
plaque under the trees and held this ceremony to honour the fallen from 1914-18, 1939-45, and subsequent conflicts.
This story was first published in “Fine Spirit and Pluck: World War One Stories from Banyule, Nillumbik and Whittlesea” published by Yarra Plenty Regional Library, August 2016
Photo: Kev Howlett 2017
