Management plan
The Soldiers Memorial Avenue Management Plan was the result of 14 months work by FOSW (now FOSMA) and officers of the Hobart City Council. It endorsed by Council in May 2004 after public consultlation and officially launched on August 3 2004 by Adrian Howard (President FOSW) and Lord Mayor Rob Valentine.
The plan lays out the following vision and objectives. Download the Management Plan.
For every soldier a tree, for every tree a plaque.
The Soldiers Memorial Avenue is an extensive war memorial within natural grassland to 508 individual servicemen for whom trees were planted in 1918. An essential part of this commemoration was the linkage between individual servicemen and specific tree as signified by individual name plates. The fundamental principle guiding restoration should be -For every soldier a tree, for every tree a plaque.
Objectives
Replanting of the Avenue
Sufficient trees should be planted to ensure that for every serviceman originally commemorated on the Avenue, there is a tree once more. Where the tree cannot be replanted in the original position, the trees should be planted as close as possible to those original positions. In the case of the trees under Cross Roads Oval, there are a number of options that would ensure the re-connection of the Avenue.
Identification of Soldiers
Research should continue to produce a final and definitive list of the servicemen commemorated and the original position of the trees. There are a small number of serviceman who were commemorated on the Avenue for whom a precise tree position has yet to be located. In addition, there are trees for which no serviceman has been identified.
Restore the Link between Serviceman and Tree
A fundamental aspect of the original Avenue, subsequently reinforced, was the connection between individual trees and serviceman. The individual plaquing of trees is an important act of commemoration and also serves to mark out the Avenue visually. In addition, individual plaquing makes a powerful statement about the extent of the sacrifice commemorated.
Restoration of the Avenue as a Physical Entity
The Avenue should be restored so that it is obvious that it is an Avenue of four lines of trees. Currently, many trees are obscured and the physical size and extent of the Avenue is not immediately apparent. The nature and existence of the Avenue should be clear whatever the point of entry. There should be a well-defined beginning and end to the Avenue.
Restoration of the Name
The Avenue should be referred to officially as the Soldiers Memorial Avenue. It may also be considered appropriate for the Cross Roads Oval to be re-named as the Soldiers Oval or the Soldiers Memorial Oval.
Harmony with Natural Values
The restoration of the Avenue should ensure harmony with the surrounding environment and while the Avenue should be identifiable as an entity, it should blend with the grasslands and bushland through which it passes.
A Focus for Commemoration
The Avenue is a war memorial comprised of living trees rather than stone and restoration should aim to emphasise this fact. Formal acts of commemoration, educational activities and interpretation on the Avenue should also be in keeping with this memorial aspect and reinforce it. The Avenue could also become as significant an attraction as the Avenues in Ballarat and Kings Park, Perth.
Linkage to other Pedestrian Routes
The Avenue should be emphasized as the focal pedestrian spine for the Queens Domain. A restored Avenue would be a significant part of local tourism infrastructure appealing to heritage and general tourists. Restoration and continuing maintenance of the Avenue would provide a powerful statement about the character of the Hobart community. This would require among other things improved signage and pathways within the bounds of and connecting with the Avenue.
Compatibility of other works
Developments or maintenance work that is to take place within or adjacent to the Memorial Avenue should be compatible with the Avenue and mindful of its significance. This specifically relates to works that may have an adverse physical impact on the trees or the visual integrity of the Avenue.
Completion by 2014
The Avenue should be restored by the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War in 2014. This would allow for progressive commemoration on the centenary of the deaths of the individuals represented on the Avenue. This completion date would also ensure that the centenary of the inauguration of the Avenue in August 2018 takes place on an Avenue comprised of well-established and healthy trees.
