Cemetery Trust

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Description

The Underbool Cemetery came into being in January 1913, when the first burial took place. Between 1913 and 1923, burials were not officially recorded, as a result almost all names and sites from that period are unknown.

The Trust was formed in 1922 and continues to this day.

In 1993/94 a lawn section was established.lawn section

In 1994 the magnificent wrought iron gates, donated by the Farnsworth family, were restored and placed at the cemetery entrance.

A cairn, built inside the south fence, stands as a memorial to those pioneers and their children who are buried beyond the present day fence and who were buried prior to the keeping of records.

Improvements at the cemetery include the planting of many trees and shrubs, a Gazebo, picket fence, netting fence on the east side, seats, shed, plaques on unmarked graves, new lawn headstone section and a toilet, with the hope of more improvements still to come.

The Cemetery is well maintained, thanks to the support of local community volunteers.

Lone Pine origins

Plaque at base of Lone Pine at Underbool cemetery

Lone Pine

Lone Pine seeds came from Plateau 400 at Gallipoli which was the scene of a major diversionary offensive launched by 1st Australian Infantry Div. on 6th August 1915.

Turkish soldiers had cut down all but one of the trees on the ridge which was then dominated by the single Allepo Pine and became known as Lone Pine. It is known that two Australian soldiers souvenired pine-cones from the ridge that found their way back to Australia.

Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith of the 3rd Battalion, whose brother was killed in the battle for Lone Pine Ridge, sent a cone home to his mother Mrs McMullen, at Inverell NSW. Mrs McMullen kept the cone for 13 years before planting the seeds in 1928. She grew two seedlings, one of which she presented to the town of Inverell and the other to the Parks and Gardens section of the Dept of Interior in Canberra. The Duke of Gloucester planted this second tree at the Australian War Memorial in October 1934 and now it stands over 20m in height.

Sergeant Keith McDowell of the 24th Battalion carried a pinecone in his haversack until the end of the war. Upon returning home to Australia, he gave it to his aunt, Mrs Emma Gray, who lived at Grassmere near Warrnambool, Victoria. A decade or so later Mrs Gray planted the seeds and four seedlings were grown. One was planted in May 1933 in Wattle Park, Melbourne. Another at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, and another at the Soldiers Memorial Hall at The Sisters. The last was planted in the Warrnambool Gardens.

 Source: Cemeteries & Crematoria Assoc. of Victoria