details

Statement of Significance

This memorial garden was created in 1995 to commemorate 50 years after the end of WW11 in the Pacific. It was formed from land once known as Sylvan Park, historical home of two local settlers who were prominent in establishing wineries in McLaren Vale. Sylvan Park contains the only known formal, landscape feature of an avenue of olive trees, used ornamentally.
The RSL helped to create this memorial park, which contains a leopard tank, several memorials and plaques, and 50 trees to mark 50 years of peace.
This park is therefore an interesting combination of early settler enterprise, with formal avenue planting, and a memorial garden, to recognise the contribution of local men and women to WW11in the Pacific. In addition to these two attributes, it celebrates the life and professional services of a much-loved doctor, who was instrumental in establishing a local hospital in McLaren Vale.

History

as above

Location

There are 50 trees, one each for the fifty years of peace since the end of WW11 in the Pacific (1945-1995). They are planted in a semi-circular/horseshoe layout in the centre of the park

Other

This memorial garden commemorates 50 years after the end of WW11 in the Pacific on land once known as Sylvan Park, historical home of two local settlers who were prominent in establishing McLaren Vale. The RSL and the community at large created the memorial park,and planted 50 trees to mark 50 years of peace.
It is a combination of early settler enterprise and a memorial garden, recognising the contribution of local men and women to WW11. It also celebrates the services of a much-loved doctor, instrumental in establishing a local hospital in McLaren Vale.

Notes

GEMMEL TASSIE RESERVE MEMORIAL GARDEN, McLAREN VALE
This reserve is on land once part of Sylvan Park, the original home of two early settlers, William Colton and Cyril Pridmore. William built the heritage-listed homestead and Cyril later planted the long and impressive olive tree avenue. Both features survive in 2018, and are associated with the Gemmel Tassie Reserve. The reserve was as created as an affectionate memorial to a local GP, Dr Gemmel Tassie, whose family still live in McLaren Vale. The reserve became a de facto celebratory place for the local RSL and was much upgraded from a weedy paddock, in June 2003, in time for a formal dedication service of the Long Tan Cross, held on 17 August 2003.
Dr Gemmel Tassie (OAM) (1901-2001) studied medicine at the Adelaide University, graduating in 1926. After time in the Murray Mallee, he moved to McLaren Vale in 1943, where for some time he was the only general practitioner between the Adelaide Hills and Murray Bridge. He was a strong supporter of the hospital at McLaren Vale, and became its first Honorary Medical Officer.
In 2018, this reserve has a number of war memorial areas, including the Remembrance Garden, with its fifty trees planted to mark the end of World War II. Next to the gazebo on the western side of the park a plaque honours the men and women who served in that conflict.
In 2007 the McLaren Vale Branch of the RSL agreed to hold all of its commemoration services at the Memorial Park, within the Gemmel Tassie Reserve on Valley View Drive. The Memorial Park contains five significant memorials, namely:
• The 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Gaza-Beersheba, Turkey, on 31 October 1917;
• The 50th Anniversary of the end of WW11 in September 1945; 50 trees were planted around memorial area, by local school children
• 40th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, Vietnam, in August 1966;
• 40th Anniversary of the Battles of Coral Balmoral, Vietnam, in June 1968;
• Replica of the cross at Long Tan, Vietnam; installed in August 2003.
This memorial garden may interest the National Trust and TREENET for complementary reasons.
When the RSL approached Willunga RDC in 1994 for a permanent memorial site for a Vietnam Veteran’s Service of Remembrance, the RSL had only modest intentions in response to a DVA (Dept of Veteran’s Affairs) Nation’s Australia Remembers project – based on a 50-years after 15 August 1945 anniversary of the end of WW11 in the Pacific, thereafter known as VP Day. This RSL initiative soon became a community project involving many local organisations. The project was to take 1 year. The chair of the McLaren Vale Australia Remembers Committee overseeing it was Bob Plummer, who when interviewed in 2018 for this nomination, had to hand much of the original documentation, some of which is cited here as ‘evidence’ of the process, and its intentions.
The RSL and the community came up with the idea of planting one tree per year of peace, namely 50 trees, and to hold a picnic concert day. Three alternative sites were considered, settling on the Gemmel Tassie Reserve, which was a weedy paddock at the time.
RDC Willunga responded to the RSLs proposals with a much grander plan; a double-row of 25 trees in a semi-circular format, using trees in a tiered fashion. The Landscape Architect, Franek Savarton, called his design ‘a semi-circular vaulted space. When planting is mature’ he wrote, ‘the inner circle of tall straight trees will be set against a dense backdrop of dark foliage trees external to the semi-circle, planting will have an edge of slender trees.’
The trees were intended to be longish-lived and low maintenance. Two species were chosen: Spotted Gum (Eucalyptus maculata) and Swamp Sheok (Casuarina glauca), both are Eastern seaboard species. Since then the spotted gum’s botanical name has changed to Corymbia maculata.
The ensemble of tree species has been photographed and one tree has been measured, as representative of the fifty planted in 1995. Measurement took place on 18 September 2018:
Corymbia maculata sizes:
Ht: 21.6m
Trunk girth: 1.63m
Canopy spread, E-W:10.5m
Canopy spread, N-S:12.2m
The Sheoaks were some 2-3m shorter and considerably narrower in spread, than the gums. All trees are in good condition, and cared for by the City of Onkaparinga.
Project costs were estimated at $5000; of that, $2000 came from a DVA grant, and the rest came from fund-raising and activities ‘in kind’.
Although the ‘anniversary’ fell on the 15th, the tree planting took place on Sunday the 13th August 1995 to allow everyone to attend (RSL letter dated 8 October, 1997). Trees were planted by students from McLaren Flat Primary school, McLaren Vale Primary school and Tatachilla Lutheran College, and also by representatives from State Government, Local Government, Emergency Services, and other local organisations.
Each participant received a memento of the occasion in the form of commemorative certificate, which read:
AUSTRALIA REMEMBERS
1945-1995
ON SUNDAY 13 AUGUST1995 I ATTENDED
THE TREE PLANTING AND DEDICATION SERVICE
WHEN FIFTY TREES WERE PLANTED IN MCLAREN VALE
TO CELEBRATE FIFTY YEARS SINCE THE END OF
WORLD WAR 11 ON 15 AUGUST 1945

In 1997, the site was still in the hands of Willunga RDC, but had been much neglected. The RSL notified Council of its concerns –and the fact that the project envisaged in 1995 was incomplete. When the City of Onkaparinga was formed, and in response to the neglect, it came up with a much grander Concept Plan, including a flagpole, a Long Tan Cross, and a big ceremony - on completion.

Much took place during the planting and unveiling ceremonies, and it is worth noting that of the two participants of the unveiling of the plaque, Mrs Jean Kubank and Mr Digby Pridmore, Mr Pridmore is a descendant of the Pridmore family who planted the olive avenue on the original Sylvan Park Estate.
Statement of significance
This memorial garden was created in 1995 to commemorate 50 years after the end of WW11 in the Pacific. It was formed from land once known as Sylvan Park, historical home of two local settlers who were prominent in establishing wineries in McLaren Vale. Sylvan Park contains the only known formal, landscape feature of an avenue of olive trees, used ornamentally in South Australia.
The RSL and the community-at-large helped to create this memorial park, which contains a leopard tank, several memorials and plaques, and 50 trees to mark 50 years of peace.
This park is therefore an interesting combination of early settler enterprise, with formal avenue planting, and a memorial garden, to recognise the contribution of local men and women to WW11. In addition to these two attributes, it celebrates the life and professional services of a much-loved doctor, who was instrumental in establishing a local hospital in McLaren Vale.
In terms of deciding the relative status of this nomination, a state branch of a national organisation, the RSL, sought funds from another national organisation, the Department of Veterans Affairs. DVA put out a national call for ideas for a national form of remembrance, perhaps expressed at state level. It was the local RSL who convened a communal committee to oversee, design and complete, this memorial project.
References
Bob Plummer, Brian McNamara, Geoff Flavell: Notes of meeting with RSL 11/9/2018.
City of Onkaparinga staff; pers comm.
Kelly Dyer, Librarian, City of Onkaparinga; pers comm.
Helen McSkimming, Librarian, City of Onkaparinga; pers comm.
City of Onkaparinga online data.
City of Onkaparinga Project papers; Ref: L5 MLV –ML-1, 2004.

Nongov/NTSA/STC/STnominationSep2018