Ballarat's Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour committee have launched an appeal to help repair damage to trees and plaques along the historic avenue after last month's devastating storm.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than 50 trees were destroyed, while many more were damaged and will need further assessment.
Committee president Garry Snowden said the Weatherboard section of the avenue, north of the Western Highway, sustained the most damage with a significant number of trees blown over or snapped in half.
But there was damage right along the 22km avenue. Many of the trees that came down also broke or crushed the plaques standing in front of the trees representing 3912 Ballarat and district men and women who served in WWI.
Thirteen of the destroyed trees had been planted to commemorate the sacrifice of men who lost their lives.
Mr Snowden said the loss of any tree diminished the Avenue but the loss of trees planted for those who made the supreme sacrifice was tragic.
"Three of those men have no known grave, so their tree and plaque in our Avenue was most likely the nearest they had to a headstone bearing their name. It was a memorial to their service, but also a place where their loved ones could visit to honour their service and mourn their loss.
"Even in the case of the 10 who have a known grave, it was most unlikely that their families could have ever contemplated visiting a grave on the other side of the world, so their tree and plaque in the Avenue became their substitute headstones."
Mr Snowden had an estimate for restoration costs of around $100,000, with about $60,000 of that alone to clear fallen timber and trees.
While Ballarat Council is ultimately responsible for the Avenue, Mr Snowden said the committee and community wanted to help the restoration effort.
"The committee could sit back and say it's (council's) job to fix it up but people on the committee are very committed to preservation of the Avenue and ... we had some approaches to the committee asking what people can do to help."
IN OTHER NEWS
Lucas developer Integra, which has strong ties to the Avenue and the streets in Lucas after people from the Avenue of Honour, donated $10,000.
"That got us to thinking if there are other people out there, families for example whose tree might have been damaged or blown down, who want to make a contribution we are setting up the means to do that through the appeal."
Donations, made payable to 'Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee Inc-Tree Restoration Appeal', can be lodged at the City of Ballarat Customer Service desk at the Phoenix Building in Armstrong Street South or by calling one of the following Committee members who will advise on other payment options: - President, Garry Snowden 0487 313 137, Vice President, Paul Jenkins 0408 343 053, Secretary/Treasurer, Jeremy Johnson 0407 860 883. The direct bank account lodgement for tax deductible donations for this Appeal is BSB 083 526 Account 51 924 3834. Donors wishing to make a direct bank transfer should call one of the above Committee members to ensure an appropriate acknowledgement and tax receipt are forwarded.
Our team of local journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the Ballarat community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark thecourier.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news, sport and daily headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News