Corryong Avenue of Honour Memorial

Memorial Corryong Avenue of Honour

Memorial Plaque on granite rock, Corryong Avenue of Honuor. Deodar Cedar and Corryong Primary School in background.

Memorial Plaque. Deodar Cedar and Corryong Primary School in background.

On Anzac Day 2026, the new memorial on Corryong's Avenue of Honour was opened.

The memorial features a commemorative plaque, stunning wooden carvings, information boards and a granite seat.

The memorial is bounded by gardens. Planted in the gardens are Gallipoli Centenary roses, Grevillea "Mt Tamboritha" and prostrate rosemary.

The plaque, set into a large granite rock, lists the 127 men and women from Corryong, Colac Colac, Nariel and Khancoban who served in World War 1.

Over 500 residents of the Upper Murray enlisted in the Great War, with at least 160 paying the extreme sacrifice. Those not named here are remembered in other Honour Avenues and Honour Rolls in the district.

First planted in 1918, the original Avenue of Honour was opened on 29th August, 1918 by Mrs A.L Hamilton (one of the oldest residents of the district).

Opening of Corryong Avenue of Honour 1918

Josie and Irene granddaughters of Mrs Hamilton 2026

The 1918 ceremony took place outside the Corryong Primary School, opposite the new memorial.

In the ceremony to open the new memorial, two of Mrs Hamilton's great granddaughters, Josie Parkin and Irene Coonan, cut the opening ribbon.

37th Army Cadet Unit

Community Members at Memorial Opening

The 37th Army Cadet Unit attended the ceremony, with Cadet Under Officer Rowlinson and Cadet Sergent Cremona from Corryong officiating.

The Man from Snowy River Tourism Association Committee with community members

The committee of The Man from Snowy River Tourism Association and a large number of community members attended, many of whom had been directly involved with researching, coordinating and organising the Avenue of Honour memorial project. The Man from Snowy River Tourism Association was fortunate to obtain a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist with the creation of this memorial. Numerous volunteers have spent countless hours to bring this memorial into existence.

After the Black Summer fires of 2019/2020, the Corryong Community Recovery Committee received the suggestion that something should be done to acknowledge and rejuvenate our Avenue of Honour. Many locals were not aware of the significance of many of our town's trees. Towong Shire did some much needed maintenance and pruning of the remaining Honour Avenue trees and The Man from Snowy RIver Tourism Association sought ways to enhance the Avenue and preserve its purpose.

AWM Places of Pride https://placesofpride.awm.gov.au

RSL Virtual War Memorial https://vwma.org.au

Extensive research was carried out to find out the names of those who were remembered in this Avenue. Local war historian, Stephen Learmonth, has spent many hours to research and document the stories of the 127 World War 1 servicemen and women listed on the new plaque. These stories are recorded on the Australian War Memorial website "Places of Pride" and RSL website "Virtual War Memorial".

Deodar Cedar Corryong Avenue of Honour

The original planting of the Avenue consisted of 100 trees - 60 conifers (Cedrus deodara "Deodar Cedar") and 40 other trees including Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), Kurrajongs (Brachychiton populneus), Linden (Tilia cordata) and unknown species of Pines. The trees in the main central business district of Corryong were removed during the building of the Snowy Mountains Scheme to allow large construction vehicles to pass through town. Over the years, replacement trees have been added for those which have died or been removed.

In 1918, the Corryong community wanted the Avenue to not be just for those who served in World War 1. Their vision was for this to be extended to both ends of town for years to come. Their dream was to create a living evergreen memorial.

Information signage at the new memorial includes historical photos, snippets of letters home from Upper Murray soldiers, the story of how the Avenue came into being and information about the tree species in the original Avenue.

Sculptor John Brady Corryong Avenue of Honour

Sculpture 5 Corryong Avenue of Honour

Sculptor John Brady created carvings to represent our servicemen and women.

Originally, the idea was to create sculptures from dead Deodar cedar trees. However the wood of the dead Deodar cedar trees in the Avenue was not of sufficient quality for carving. John supplied two lengths of Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) for the project.

John was inspired by photographs of our soldiers to create faces which represent and honour all who served. None of the carvings are the portrait of any one person.

The Man from Snowy River Tourism Association hopes that this memorial assists the local and wider community to remember the sacrifices of all of our servicemen and women and the foresight of our community in 1918 to create today's tree lined Avenue. We acknowledge the support of the Department of Veterans Affairs "Saluting Their Service" grant with funding for this project.