The Mickleham Avenue of Honour

"Lest We Forget"

 The 2.6 kilometer Mickleham Avenue of Honour is a historically, significant landscape, located  in Mickleham Rd, Mickleham, Victoria and was originally planted by schoolchildren in the early 1900's as part of Arbour Day activities to commemorate men and women who served in World War 1.  It is the longest avenue of mature eucalyptus in the City of Hume, Victoria and gives an unmistakable and powerful Australian character to Mickleham.

Originally the avenue of River Red and Sugar Gums was planted as part of Arbour Day and wooden plaques honouring people named on the Mickleham War memorial were also placed under the trees in the Avenue of Honour but have long since disappeared.   Some of the trees in the Avenue of Honour had become structurally unsound due to old age and required pruning and some others needed to be removed.

On the 24th of April, 2002 as part of a commemorative planting day leading up to Anzac Day, 61 River Red Gums were planted by, school children, teachers and parents from the Mickleham Primary School, veterans from the Second World War and families of those honoured on the Mickleham War Memorial.   The trees that had been removed were replaced and commemorative bronze service plaques were also installed, to honour those men and women who were listed on Mickleham's War Memorial.

Some interesting historical information on the Mickleham Avenue of Honour

Frank Cocking of Mickleham, as a school child, helped to plant the Avenue north of Mt. Ridley Road on Arbour Day in 1916.  Frank named his tree after an Army General.  By that stage the Avenue was already planted and well established south of Mt. Ridley Road.  Originally the trees in the Avenue had guards to protect them from stock damage, as Mickleham Road was part of a stock route to the Newmarket sale yards.

Mrs. Mary Clancy of Kennington, Frank Cocking's sister, also helped to plant the trees along the avenue as a child.  The children each gave their special tree a name of choice and Mrs Clancy name her tree Princess Mary.  There were wooden plaques under the tree painted with the names that the children chose.

In the 1980's the wooden signs under the trees had begun to disintegrate.  A local Mickleham resident gathered them up in order to ensure they were protected from further damage.  This resident has since been deceased, and the local residents family sold the property and the wooden plaques were subsequently lost.

The following lists in order the 43 individual plaques and the inscription on each plaque.

The plaques commence from the first tree south of the Mickleham War Memorial, heading south, on the east side of the road on (the same side as Mickleham Primary School). The order was shuffled to ensure that veterans and their families who came to plant a tree on the 25th of April could do so for themselves or their family member.  Hence some WW2 plaques are amongst the WW1 plaques to allow for a newly planted tree.

  1. 4164 - Private Rupert Francis Chambers 8th Battalion served in WW1

  2. 169 - Private Henry Coates 3rd Pioneer Battalion A. I. F. Served in WW1

  3. 4760 - Private Frederick John Cocking 5th Pioneer Battalion A. I. F served in WW1 † died in action 26.11.1916 "in the field" France.

  4. VX18809 - Sergeant Major George Hubert Cocking 2/2 field Regiment served in WW2 in Palestine, Egypt, Greece, Ceylon and New Guinea.

  5. 109 - Trooper William James Hall 4th Australian Light Horse served in WW1 † Died in action 14.11.1915 Turkey, Aged 22.

  6. A. Henderson Served in WW1

  7. P. Johnson Served in WW1

  8. 136 - Lance Corporal Percival Charles William Langford 4th Light Horse Regiment Served in WW1

  9. 2005A - Driver William John Pepper 11th Field Artillery Brigade Served in WW1

  10. B. Roberts Served in WW1

  11. W. Saunders Served in WW1

  12. 1405 - Gunner Bernard Schroeder 14th Battlion A. I. F. Served in WW1 † Died of wounds received in action, 14.8.1916 in France.

  13. H. Sutton Served in WW1

  14. E. Talent Served in WW1

  15. H. Vincent Served in WW1

  16. Albert Williams Served in WW1

  17. 729 - Lance Corporal Leslie Norman Williams 8th Btn, Australian Infantry, A. I. F. Served in WW1 † died in action 20.9.1917 Aged 22.

  18. William (Bill) Williams Served in WW1

  19. 286 - Corporal John Thomas Williams 22nd Battalion Served in WW1

  20. VX138988 Mechanic Craftsman Gr 2 Edward Thomas Williams 3rd Motor Brigade Headquarters 285 Light Aid Detachment Served in WW2 in Australia.

  21. VX744  - Lance Bombardier John Edward Beasley 2/2 Field Regiment Served in WW2 † Died of injuries 2.4.1942 Gun shot wound accidentally received.

  22. VX54325 - Private Andrew Mitchell Beveridge Australian Army Medical Corps Served in WW2

  23. V315242 - Private Denis Patrick Bourke 39th Australian Works Company Served in WW1

  24. VX117995 - Corporal Ernest John Bourke 5th Battalion Served in WW2

  25. VF345897 - Corporal Ellen Sarah Bourke Australian Women's Army Service Served in WW2

  26. Miss Irene Bourke Served in WW2

  27. William Bourke Served in WW2

  28. 120203 - Corporal Don Brown 10 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force Served in WW2 in England

  29. 23132 - Yeoman of Signals Kenneth Tom Brown Royal Australian Air Force Served in WW2

  30. VF515985 - Private Nancye Brown Australian Women's Army Service Served in WW2 in Australia

  31. VX100432 - Gunner Thomas Francis Curley 112th Australian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Served in WW2 in Darwin

  32. Captain F. Code Served in WW1

  33. VX128081 - Sergeant Laurence Walton Davis Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit Served in WW2

  34. VX119616 - Sergeant Neil Watson Davis 102 Australian Composite Anti Aircraft Regiment Service Served in WW2

  35. VX57551 - Bdr George Morris Loyd 24th Battery, 2/12 Field Regiment, 9th Division Served in WW2, in the Middle East, New Guinea and Borneo

  36. VX57550 - Gunner Sydney Evans Loyd 24th Battery, 2/12 Field Regiment, 9th Division Served in WW2, in the Middle East, New Guinea and Borneo

  37. VX57549 - Sergeant William John Loyd  23rd Battery, 2/12 Field Regiment, 9th Division Served in WW2, in the Middle East, New Guinea and Borneo

  38. 12889 - Corporal Ronald Lionel Gibson Royal Australian Air Force Served in WW2

  39. VX6517 - Sergeant Major Llewlyn Clarke Saunders 2nd 8th Battalion, 6th Division Served in WW2

  40. Corporal Robert George Troutbeck New Zealand Army Served in WW2 Captured as a Prisoner of War in Greece

  41. VX57338 - Private Philip Maxwell Uren 2/24 Battalion Served in WW2 † Died in action

  42. VX56857 - Corporal Kenneth Mariott Webster 2/8th Australian Armoured Regiment Served in WW2

  43. VX106223 - Trooper Philip Leslie Webster 8th Light Horse, 8th Australian Cavalry Regiment Served in WW2

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