The Brunswick Valley was hit hard by WW1, with 69 percent of its young men killed or wounded, according to Census figures.
This led families from across the wider district to come together in Brunswick Heads to plant coastal cyprus pines as a living memorial to those who served, and those who didn’t come home.
It is located within the Terrace Holiday Park, which is managed by NSW-government run entity, Reflections Holiday Parks.
Commemorative planting at risk
Reflections plans to ‘reforest’ the area under its ‘Pine Regeneration Project’, and at risk is the original commemorative intent and layout of the memorial.
They said in their Echo ad last week that they ‘welcome respectful conversations’ around how they can support the recognition of this memorial.
Reflections have already been advised by community members that this memorial is registered with the National Heritage, in the Mitchell Library and on Treenet.
It is difficult to get exact figures on those who enlisted in WW1, as many got on the train, and did so in Lismore and Murwillumbah.
Plus, lads continued to enlist during the war, and others never enlisted.
Yet the impact of WW1 on Byron Shire’s male population between 18 and 34 years of age was significant!
The 69 per cent of 18-34 year old males, either killed or wounded was slightly above the 68 per cent for the whole of Australia.
When compared to the 62 per cent killed and wounded in Germany, 48 per cent in Great Britain and 55 per cent amongst the Ottomans, it brings a very different perspective again.
To bring the impact of WW1 into current perspective, there is an estimated 3,600 males between 18 and 34 years in Byron Shire, a 69 per cent killed or wounded would be a 2,484 impact on the sons, husbands and fathers in that population.
The figures should emphasise to all, and help us understand, what drove the community to create the living WW1 memorial to their men in what was the Brunswick Heads Flora Reserve – now the Terrace Holiday Park in Brunswick Heads.
Dip in 1921 data
The impact of this ‘lost generation’ on the social and economic fabric of the towns and villages was profound, and easily recognisable in the ‘dip’ in the Census data of 1921.
There were labour shortages, particularly in dairying, forcing many families to be reliant on child labour or sell their farms.
The loss of men of marriageable age saw a rise in single-woman households.
Men who did return, and who had been gassed, were suffering from shell shock or had lost (or injured) limbs, could not return to their former work.
Thus, the living WW1 memorial, planted to honour those who served and those who lost their lives, must be managed with the same respect as any other memorial.
The original grid pattern must not be altered so that what is preserved is the historical integrity of the memorial. It is critical that Reflections undertake only to replant trees in line with the original grid formation. Historical aerial photographs shows it extended to the southern end of the precinct.
This negates the notion of ‘creating’ a ‘forest’ of 600 sqm in the Terrace Holiday Park unless it is in grid formation.
Reflections is advised this is about honouring and respecting the military heritage of our Shire.
Patricia Warren is a long-term Bruns resident.
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