Memorials to those who have served their country in war can be found everywhere in Australia, from the smallest hamlet to the capital cities. On some the list of names of the fallen is long while others remember just a few from the surrounding district. Every memorial is identical in that each records the names of soldiers lost in battle. The memorial at Legerwood in northern Tasmania is like any other in that respect, but the men of that town who made the ultimate sacrifice are remembered in a unique and moving display.
In 1918 the small town of Ringarooma Road, later renamed Legerwood, mourned the loss of seven fine young men, all killed in World War 1. On 15th October a remembrance ceremony was held at the railway reserve and seven trees were planted in their honour, as well as another tree at each end to commemorate Gallipoli and the Anzacs.
In 2001 the trees were assessed and the final report was heartbreaking for the community of Legerwood. The aging trees had grown too large and needed to be removed before they became a danger to the public. The townspeople refused to lose their memorial avenue altogether and in 2004 Eddie Freeman, a chainsaw carver from Ross, was commissioned to transform the trees.
In 2005 Eddie carved a likeness of each soldier from the tree that originally bore his name and included details from his life before the war. George Peddle worked as a sawmill manager before he joined the army and is shown with a crosscut saw and an axe. He was 25 years old when he was killed in action at Passchendaele in 1917.
John McDougall was a railway porter at the Ringarooma Road railway station. Aged 19, he was also killed in action at Passchendaele.
William Hyde died of his wounds in France in 1916 at the age of 27. He had been a sawmill hand in Legerwood prior to enlisting in the Australian Infantry.
Alan Andrews was helping to work the family farm before the war. He was killed in action at Pozieres in 1916, aged 19.
The Anzac carving shows a soldier playing the bugle and is dedicated to all Australian soldiers who served in World War 1.
Lest We Forget
So beautiful, I’d love to go and see these!
They were in such a lovely peaceful seetting too.
Amazing!
Yes, they were amazing and such intricate detail.
WOW – these are absolutely spectacular. Eddie Freeman is a genius!
Yes, we thought so. We saw several other similar individual pieces of work around Tasmania but we don’t know if they were all his.
wow! unique way to honor them
The workmanship was amazing.
What a wonderful way to deal with a “problem” and likewise honor the fallen. So clever, so unique! Thank you for sharing this!
And would you believe all we knew about them before we got there was a small marker on our map that said “carved trees”. We found a brochure afterwards but even that didn’t do justice to these special works of art.
What a suberb memorial – it’s unique in many ways, and is much more meaningful than a plaque with names on it. What a fabulous find!
It was definitely worth leaving the highway for! We spent a couple of hours there.
Carol, These are so amazing. I called my husband over to see them. We have some carvers like that in this area, and there is a big wooden carving of John Muir at the conjunction of Hwys 198 and 99. But what a great memorial for these VERY young lives that were lost.
It was so nice that the trees could still be a memorial to these young men and it was spectacular to see them all together.
It’s an amazing collection. What a great story. You are amazing my friend. I love your work. Marsha
Thanks. That is a great compliment!
Now THIS is a cool memorial!
Yes, it was very special.
We got goosebumps reading the story and seeing the amazing wood sculpture tributes.
Can we make politicians study these before they order more children off to war?
I had never seen carvings like this before, unlike a couple of weeks ago, but the way these have been done is wonderful. I think they are even more special now.
They were so meaningful. We saw chainsaw carvings in several different towns and I wondered if they were all done by the same man.
Amazing and beautiful works of art. The links with Paschandaele are very interesting for me.
Many Australian soldiers died there.