John Williams, Treasures of Nhill & District Facebook page, 6 July 2023

Also known as a “Lone Pine” the tree began life in Nhill as a germinated seed planted outside the Monomeeth Aged Care Homes in Clarence Street.

The story of the tree began in 1970 when well-known local identity Tammy Dickinson, accompanied by Joe Morris and Fred Wubbling, travelled to Gallipoli in search of the grave of Tammy’s Uncle, Thomas Dickinson.

A member of the 9th Light Horse Regiment, Tom was killed in action on the 28th of August 1915. His parents were informed that their son was buried by a chaplain but the exact place was not known.

The visiting Nhill trio found a headstone naming Tom, stating he was believed to have been buried in the Hill 60 Cemetery.

While at Gallipolli, Tammy followed the practice of Anzac soldiers and gathered up a pine cone to bring home as a memento.

Some 16 years later, in 1986, he decided to collect some of the seeds from the cone and was successful in getting them to germinate and gave one to a member of the Monomeeth Committee, Max Davey to propagate.

When it grew to 11 inches, it was planted with great ceremony on the nature strip outside the home by Tom’s brother Len Dickinson in June 1988.

Two years later a plaque was unveiled under the tree to reveal the significance of the pine and its connection to Nhill.

Pinus brutia or Turkish Pine is native to the Gallipoli Peninsula and scattered specimens grew across the hills of the battlefield, and all the trees except the famous one. “The Lone Pine” were cut down by the Turks for the construction of their defensive trenches.

A 25-year-old farmer, Thomas Dickinson, was the second son of Lowan Shire Councillor Richard and Mrs Dickinson of Boyeo near Broughton.

Daughter Florence received a card from her brother during the war and the words written on the back were sadly prophetic.

Dear Floss, We proudly go to answer my country’s call And if it is to be my lot to fall with other brave Australian sons, I send this little card in remembrance for you. With love from your brother Tom.

Hill 60 was the focus of several badly handled attacks, which resulted in costly and confused fighting that marked the end of the last major offensive at Gallipoli.

It was a red-letter day on Thursday, 26 August 1915. When the 9th Light Horse troops were marched down to the beach at Anzac Cove with high hopes of taking a holiday at Imbros, or Lemnos.

While soaking up the sun and enjoying their afternoon tea, thinking about the prospect of getting off Gallipoli for a couple of weeks, the men were excited and happy.

Their lolling around was just too good to be true. An hour later, orders were given to move up to Walker’s Ridge within touch of Hill 60, a hotly contested piece of real estate.

The 9th Light Horse Regiment, without their famous horses because of the terrain, led by Colonel Carew Reynell went into a trench fight at 11.30pm on the 27th.

A vicious struggle with bomb and bayonet took place. Many light horsemen were caught by artillery and a Turkish machine gun sited down the trench.

Tom, who had been promoted to Lance Corporal the previous month, was shot in the spine and lived only a few minutes; he died in his mate’s arms without speaking a word.

After the war and to salute his memory, his name appeared in a stained glass window installed in the tiny Methodist Church at Broughton.

The Church was abandoned for years before being demolished; however, the window survives, waiting for a place of honour. The names of five fallen diggers appear in the window and it’s ironic that one of those names is Charles Williams.

As happens in tight-knit communities, Tom’s sister, Floss, married Charlie’s brother Horrie.

Tom’s father, Richard, a Lowan Councillor, chaired many district events in support of the war effort and was a prominent speaker in favour of the ‘Yes’ vote in the conscription referenda.

With the loss of his son still raw, he spoke at the opening of the Nhill War Memorial in 1921.

See all the pictures in the issue.

This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 26 July 2023.