Horticulturist Chris Ware finds Anzac Day a little stressful.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Not only does he feel emotional as he reflects on the men who sacrificed their lives in the trenches of Gallipoli, but his workload increases.
As the general manager of the ACT government-run Yarralumla Nursery, Mr Ware oversees one of the longest-running and most historically significant propagation programs in Australia and possibly the world.
He helps ensure that the legend of the Lone Pine – so significant during Anzac Day commemorations – lives on around the globe.
The Lone Pine itself is a 20 metre Aleppo pine that stands strong in the lush grounds of the Australian War Memorial.
The tree is named after the scene of an August 1915 Australian battle during the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey. The Turks had cut down all but one of the trees on the ridge to cover their trenches, and at least three Australian soldiers are known to have picked up one of the scattered pine cones to bring home.
Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith, whose brother was killed in the battle for the Lone Pine Ridge, sent several cones home to his mother in Inverell, NSW.
She kept the cone for 13 years, until 1928, when she grew two seedlings, one of which she presented to the town of Inverell, and the other to the Department of the Interior in Canberra.
The Duke of Gloucester planted this second tree on the site slated for the yet-to-be built Australian War Memorial in October 1934, where it has flourished ever since.
Each year, a member of Mr Ware's 35-strong team begins the process of harvesting the pine seeds by encasing the growing pine cones in a wire cage in order that the tree can "father" new seedlings.
The cages protect the tiny pine nuts from cockatoos who find them delicious – which is no surprise given they are often used in Middle Eastern cooking.
Since the late 1940s, these tiny seeds have been delicately collected and propagated to form new seedlings.
Between 600-800 seedlings are produced each year, meaning one tree may have given rise to as many as 50,000 others.
They are then purchased by the public, most commonly to be planted by RSLs, schools, councils, war memorials, arboretums and embassies around the world.
The trees, while steeped in significance, are not for every buyer, however.
They grow to 20 metres, and 15 metres in width, making them inappropriate for an average backyard.
They also can't cope with the tropical conditions across the north of Australia.
According to Mr Ware, they can make quite impressive bonsais, however.
After every batch of seed is logged on a register and weighed, their future destination could be just about anywhere.
In 1990 two trees were planted at the Lone Pine cemetery, Gallipoli.
Last year, the then Prime Minister Tony Abbott presented two small plants to the Prime Minister of Turkey as part of the Anzac Day Centenary.
Mr Ware said the nursery was currently in negotiations with Japanese officials about transporting six trees to Japan to be planted at a war memorial commemorating the loss of life in the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Meanwhile, some more seedlings are in a quarantine facility in New Jersey awaiting planting at The Australian Embassy in Washington.
Mr Ware tries to keep a watching brief on the health and wellbeing of many of his high profile trees.
Others, he simply stumbles over.
"Last year I was in a park in the Nelson Bay Memorial Park in Port Stephens and said to myself 'that's one of our trees' … It looked in pretty good shape."
Municipal Services Minister Meegan Fitzharris acknowledged the busy time of year for the nursery.
"Our Territory and Municipal Services staff do so many different and amazing things around our city, and I know they are proud of the significance of this work, especially at this time of year," she said.
