Articles show Yeppoon pines were meant to be part of memorial
LIVINGSTONE Shire Council have confirmed mature hoop pines lopped from Anzac Parade will be replaced.
Their reassurance comes as residents continue to voice their outrage online at the removal of several trees on the esplanade outside the old hospital site.
The trees were planted as part of a First World War memorial which saw an avenue of pines planted along Anzac Pde, Normanby St and James St to recognise fallen soldiers.
In 1984, the memorial was replenished and extended to include soldiers in the Second World War, Korean War and Vietnam War.
However, this is inconsistent with the description on the same listing (which doesn't state any exclusions to Anzac Pde) and historical news articles.
Information provided to The Morning Bulletin by Councillor Glenda Mather from the Yeppoon Historical Society indicate the intention of the community at the time was to have the memorial run all the way along the street.
A Morning Bulletin article dated March 4, 1929 refers to the "beautification of the road from the Strand Hotel to Ross Creek".
While an article on April 15 that year indicated the road that would give access to the hospital was in fact primarily "to serve as a memorial to the gallant Diggers, and one of the conditions attached to the scheme, was that this fact should be plainly stressed".
In January, 1931 The Bulletin reported Yeppoon's clerk had "pegged off a further portion of the Anzac Parade, at Yeppoon, for additional tree planting, namely, from Queen Street to the hospital".
In 1934, an article made reference to a stone retaining wall required from "the Bluff to Ross Creek: before grasses, shade trees and shrubs could be planted.
At the unveiling of the Cenotaph in April 1952, The Bulletin reported the Yeppoon Returned Services League had suggested council construct a memorial drive "along the seafront between Normanby Street and Ross Creek".
A Livingstone Shire Council spokesperson said as per the development requirements, every tree removed would be replaced.
"There will also be additional plantings - over and above the mandatory requirements - throughout the Lagoon Precinct, Appleton Park and Lagoon Access Road," they said.
The Morning Bulletin asked the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection to confirm whether the trees were protected, but did not receive a response before deadline.
