In 1996, Major David Campbell MacDougal (OKG37) presented Knox Grammar School with an Aleppo Pine seedling. This special seedling was planted in the top left corner of the Memorial Quadrangle and now stands tall as a fine tree.
In pre-war times, the battlefield was flush with Aleppo Pine trees, but the area was later cleared for Turkish trenches. One solitary pine survived; consequently, the area became known as Lone Pine Ridge.
The Battle of Lone Pine resulted in heavy losses on both sides. When the battle was over, a Victorian soldier, Sergeant Thomas Keith McDowell, collected several pine cones from the area. Upon his return to Australia, he gave the cones to his aunt, Mrs Emma Gray, who lived in south-west Victoria and a decade later, Mrs Gray planted the seeds and four seedlings grew – one of which was planted at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. From this tree, Legacy Australia propagated 1,000 seedlings to be gifted to schools and it was through his work with Legacy that Major MacDougal came to present this direct descendant seedling to Knox Grammar School.
The Aleppo Pine stands to remind staff and students of the courage and selflessness of the Anzacs, particularly our Old Boys, whose names are inscribed on the War Memorial.
Leave your mark and continue the legacy by donating memorabilia and photographs to the School. Email archives@knox.nsw.edu.au for more info.