The Echo

The Katoomba RSL Sub-Branch has had a  donation of remarkable historical significance.
Blue Mountains historian, Mr Geoff Bates presented the Sub-Branch with two Aleppo Pines that are direct descendants of the original Lone Pine that grew on Lone Pine Plateau at Gallipoli.
Lone Pine was the scene of a major offensive launched by the 1st Australian Infantry Division on 6 August, 1915.The battle took place in an area, the size of two football fields which became known as Lone Pine because it was dominated by a single pine tree.
In three days of fighting the Australians lost more that 2273 men and the Turks losses were estimated at 7000. Seven of the nine Victoria Crosses awarded to Australians at Gallipoli were earned at the battle of Lone Pine.
A soldier, who took part in the battle, sent a cone from the tree home to his mother. Two seedlings were grown from this cone, one of which was planted at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The two pines presented to the Sub Branch are come from the Yarraluma Nursery in Canberra and are certified to be directly descended of the original Lone Pine.