It would be hard to not be aware of the War Memorial at the top of Hyde Street in Bellingen. Recent upgrades have created an attractive and accessible space around the original cenotaph that allows us to get close to the memorial, read the names inscribed thereon or sit and contemplate the past sacrifices of members of our community.
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But did you know that there is a second War Memorial in Bellingen? The Lone Pine Memorial in Piggott Park near the Bellingen Public School has been listed on the state government’s Register of War Memorials in NSW since 2016. The centerpiece of the memorial is an Aleppo pine tree that is a descendant of the trees that stood on Plateau 400 of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey in 1915.
The Lone Pine Memorial has been used for Bellingen’s Remembrance Day services for the last five years. At last year’s service a plaque was laid commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death in Afghanistan of Sergeant Matthew Locke MG.
Although smaller and less formal than the Hyde Street memorial, the Lone Pine in Piggott Park provides a beautiful and quiet space for commemorative events, with little or no disruption to traffic and regular town activities.
Again this year, the Bellinger River RSL Sub-Branch will be conducting a Remembrance Day service at the Lone Pine Memorial and community members are invited to attend. The service will commence at 11am on Sunday November 11, and attendees are asked to be at the Lone Pine Memorial by 10.50am.
