Motoring giant to ‘move’ memorial tree

Erin Pearson
RACV will relocate a war memorial tree on Torquay Golf Club to make way for a motel, the motoring giant has revealed.
Residents and Legacy Geelong have called on the RACV to protect the lone pine, one of five in the region.
Another lone pine too big to move is standing in the way of Woolworths’ plan to build a big-box retail development on a former golf course in North Geelong.
RACV has proposed its five-storey motel for the site of the Torquay lone pine as part a $90 million course redevelopment.
Geelong Legacy’s Des Downey said the organisation and the community had expressed concern over the tree’s future.
“The lone pine around Australia has become a symbol of heroism, so it’s a living memorial to the people who lost their lives in war,” he said.
“You could argue that a tree’s only a tree but this one’s symbolic.”
Mr Downey said the Torquay tree was a descendent of a solitary pine on Plateau 400, Gallipoli, where 2200 Australians and around 6000 Turkish soldiers lost their lives.
RACV executive general manager Sue Blake said an arborist would oversee the pine relocation as part of a “tree and shrub upgrade” on the course.
The pine would move to a “prominent location” on the club grounds, she said.
Geelong Legacy president Elizabeth North hope the relocation would breathe new life into the memorial.
“The tree’s importance needs to be explained to more people, to the younger generations, so people understand why we get so upset about these things.”
Lorne arborist Steve Bayley said moving trees the size of Torquay’s lone pine was “not ideal”.
“It’s a pretty big project and you’d need cranes and things,” he said.
“It could cost anywhere between $2000 and $8000.”