Tanwood Avenue of Honour replanting project

Council is seeking community input on the replacement of frost-affected trees at the Tanwood Avenue of Honour. 

The Avenue was first established in 1924 to honour the local service men & women who served in the First World War.

Following campaigning by the Moonambel community, the dead and dying Monterey cypress trees that lined the avenue were removed in 2022 and replaced by flowering gums with the support from the Federal Government and Pyrenees Shire Council.

The flowering gum species (Corymbia ficifolia) were chosen because of their red flowers and connection to Western Australia, where men and women from farming families in the Tanwood area departed from during the First and Second World Wars.

While these trees have some tolerance to frost, a series of unusually heavy frosts in October 2024 severely impacted the young trees, particularly on the south side of the avenue.

It was hoped that some trees of the would recover in 2025 but sadly, most of the trees on the south side are dead, and those on the north side are in very poor condition and unlikely to thrive.

Because of this, it has been decided to replace all of the trees in the avenue with a more frost tolerant species, and we are seeking input from the community on tree selection.

A shortlist of two flowering gum species have been chosen. These trees have been chosen for toughness, low-maintenance, frost-tolerance, and drought resistance. 

A. Eucalyptus leucoxylon Rosea - Red Flowering Yellow Gum

A tall tree (15m) with smooth cream to grey coloured bark that forms a large open canopy with clusters of red flowers from autumn to spring. A dwarf variety (5-6m tall) is also available.

B. Eucalyptus sideroxylon Rosea - Red Flowering Ironbark

A medium size (10m) native tree with dark brown to black furrowed bark which does not shed. The bark provides a striking contrast to the blue-grey foliage and clusters of pink to red flowers that appear from winter to early spring.

Image by HelloMojo CC BY-SA 3.0

While the preference is to plant native trees, exotic trees such as Claret Ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa) and Himilayan Cedar (Cedrus deodora) may also be considered, based on your feedback. 

Submissions closed at 5:00pm on Wednesday 27 August, 2025.

Thanks for your feedback! We'll keep you up to date with the progress of the project.

For more information, please contact our Environment and Sustainability Officer, Noel McKeegan, by email at noel.mckeegan@pyrenees.vic.gov.au or phone on 1300 797 363.