Marc Worner explores the relevance of ceremonial and remembrance plants to one of the southern hemisphere’s most honoured and humbling ceremonies.
In the aftermath of the First World War, communities across Australia built war memorials to perpetuate the memory of those who served their country and who lie buried in foreign soil or beneath the seas.
According to the Australian War Memorial’s records, in the four years of this so-called ‘Great War’ approximately 416,809 Australians had volunteered. Of these, 324,000 served overseas, 61,720 deaths were incurred on active service, and another 155,000 were wounded.
In reality, some two thirds of this remarkable force was either killed or wounded.
Pause to reflect
Remembrance Day is the day Australians, like so many others around the world, pause to reflect upon those who gave their lives during times of conflict.
Originally known as Armistice Day, the commemoration sees participants pause for a period of silence to remember those who died in all wars. Much of the tradition and symbolism is directly associated with World War One, when, on November 11, 1918, the great guns that for four years wrought havoc among a whole generation of young men, fell silent.
Anzac Day is another special day of remembrance close to all Australians.
In the early hours of the April 25, 1915, forces of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (the ANZACs) landed at a small cove on the rugged slopes of Turkey’s Gallipoli Peninsula. Over 25,000 ANZACs subsequently came ashore over the following weeks, many to be cut down by skilled Turkish snipers and machine guns nestled in the cliffs and gullies towering over ANZAC Cove. The battle continued until the following December when the entire force was evacuated without achieving the planned outcome.
Australia lost 8709 of its men, and New Zealand 2701.
Plants marking time
Now, every April 25 – Anzac Day – returned servicemen and women march through the streets of small towns and large capital cities alike all over Australia.
This year marks the 110th anniversary of this battle. Sadly, no Diggers from this conflict remain alive today.
Over the years, war memorials have been extended and additional memorials erected to commemorate Australian involvement in other conflicts. No memorial is too small or insignificant to be managed and maintained because each records a priceless sacrifice.
Plants play a significant role in Australian war memorials, and there are two plants always included in these gardens.
Commemorative
On the cessation of hostilities in the First World War, the first flowers to bloom on the battlefields were red poppies (Papaver somniferum). Many soldiers believed the red poppies had been nurtured and enhanced by the blood of their fallen comrades. Thus, the red poppy has been a part of Remembrance Day services since the early 1920s and is now worn on other commemorative occasions, including Anzac Day.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a time-honoured symbol of remembrance. The ancients believed it strengthened memory and therefore became a symbol of remembrance for so many occasions. It has particular significance for Aussies because, by an extraordinary coincidence, it can be found growing wild on the slopes at Gallipoli. Sprigs of rosemary are worn on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day by Australian vets and others attending services and parades.
A famous Australian artwork, Gallipoli wild flowers by George Lambert, was painted during an excursion to the battlefield in 1919. It depicts a bunch of wildflowers he picked, putting them in an Australian biscuit tin on a soldier’s slouch hat, and consisted mainly of Euphorbias and Anemones with sprays of grasses and soft, grey succulents. Interestingly, in times of war, it became customary for men to pick flowers on the battlefields, and later press and dry them to preserve the memory of comrades who were killed.
Wreaths
Commemorative ceremonies in honour of those who perished in defence of their country often incorporate a wreath-laying ceremony. The most traditional wreath is constructed from laurel leaves arranged in a circular, intertwined pattern accompanied by a dedicatory card. As a motif in bronze, wood or stone, laurel wreaths also adorn many of Australia’s treasured war memorials.
The fact that the tree Laurus nobilis (Bay Laurel) is an evergreen is further symbolic, suggesting fidelity to the memory and recognition of sacrifice made by our Nation’s youth.
Kings Park in Perth, WA, is much more than one of Australia’s leading botanic gardens and bushland reserves. With more than 1100 trees with plaques at their bases bearing the names of their 7000 war dead, the park contains probably the biggest concentration of commemorative symbols of any state capital.
The cenotaph at its heart always becomes the focus for the annual Anzac Day dawn service.
Local concern
Local councils in each state are responsible for the memorial-garden plantings and the surrounding park containing the war memorial. They all vary in design and plant layout according to council’s wishes. Plants in these memorial gardens vary enormously around the country in order to meet the local environmental conditions, maintenance requirements and budgets.
Many war memorials in honour of Australian soldiers exist around the globe. Most are cared for by local populations and regional governments grateful for the presence of Australian soldiers in their area which led to their peace and freedom.
Annuals such as petunias, alyssum and violas are a most popular choice for these gardens because they’re inexpensive and cheerful and always add instant splashes of colour. They can be changed as the seasons allow, keeping up interest in the gardens, and of course, the memorial.
Commonly, many gardens are planted using Liriope muscari variegata and Ophiopogon (Mondo grass) as borders in the southern states, with Rhoeo discolor and Rhoeo spathacea gaining in popularity further north in Queensland. The ubiquitous Murraya paniculata is another constant in most war-memorial gardens, along with the ever-popular Pittosporum and Syzygium (Lillypilly) varieties.
Cordylines and Phormiums (NZ flax) are always present in these particular gardens, even though fashions in garden design change.
Coprosma is often used successfully near the sea to help enclose gardens.
Doryanthes excelsa (Gymea lily) is used where space permits and is a stunning feature plant in flower. Many war memorials in rural areas use this Australian native plant.
Duranta – Sheena’s Gold – has proven a hardy feature hedge around Australia, provided it’s planted in a frost-free zone.
Honour the memory
Whether our war-memorial gardens are small or large, utilise plants or water fountains or seating on which to sit and reflect, the most important thing is that we continue to honour the memory of those men and women who fought for our democracy and died for Australia in conflicts around the globe.
‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them. Lest we forget’
The fourth verse of the poem taken from Laurence Binyon’s For the Fallen, first published in The Times in September 1914, is used around the world today. Recitations of this ‘Ode of Remembrance’ are often followed by a bugle playing The Last Post – the tune played to signify the end of the military day when the soldiers could then take their rest.
At memorial services the melody is played to suggest the last post as a metaphor. The soldiers being honoured can hear the tune and know all duties have been completed, so he or she may finally rest in peace.