On a wet and cold day – 29th August 1918 – a large gathering of members of the community attended the official opening of the Corryong and District Avenue of Honour.

The opening celebrated the planting of the first 100 trees of the avenue. The ribbon was cut by one of the oldest residents of the district, Mrs A. L. Hamilton, a mother who gave five of her sons to war, one of whom would not return.

An article in the Corryong Courier (26th September, 1918) included the following: “The avenue is not being planted just for the number of boys gone. The idea is to keep extending it both ends of the town for years until there is a long, living evergreen memorial – something that will perpetuate the actions of our boys in going to fight the battle of Freedom and Liberty, right into the generations to come.”

On Anzac Day 2026, community members again gathered at the Avenue of Honour to officially open a new memorial.

The ribbon on the new memorial was cut by Josie Parkin and Irene Coonan, great granddaughters of Mrs A.L Hamilton. Unfortunately, their sister Ann Loaring was unable to attend. Cadet Under Officer Rowlinson and Cadet Sergeant Cremona, Corryong members of the 37th Army Cadet Unit were emcees for the ceremony, with the full unit also attending the ceremony.

The Deodar cedars outside the old Primary School are some of the original plantings for the Avenue of Honour. Others have died and been replaced, often with other species of trees. Following the Black Summer fires of 2019/2020, a community survey conducted by the Corryong Community Recovery Committee sought suggestions for what the community wanted to see happen in our town. Looking after and acknowledging the Avenue of Honour was one of these suggestions.

Between 1914 and 1918, more than 500 men and women enlisted from the Towong Shire, with at least 160 paying the extreme sacrifice. Of those, 127 were from Corryong, Colac Colac, Nariel and Khancoban and they are listed on the new memorial plaque.

The Man from Snowy River Tourism Association (MFSRTA) has worked tirelessly for the last three years to create the new memorial. A grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs enabled the project to happen. The memorial visibly consists of a plaque with the names of the 127 men and women; two carved sculptures and a granite seat. The less visible part of the memorial is the wealth of local history that has been recorded as a result of this project.

The sculptures, from Monterey cypress, were created by John Brady of Kilmany. Each face on the sculptures was created from multiple photographs of the service members, rather than a single individual. Therefore, each carved face honours all who served.

The original idea was to use wood from dead Deodar cedar trees for the carvings. However the wood was not in a suitable condition to be used for this purpose. With care and maintenance, the Monterey cypress carvings should last for many years.

“I would like to acknowledge the amazing effort by our committee and supporters for bringing this idea to life” said Ros McKenzie, MFSRTA president.

“Marg Jarvis and Stephen Learmonth meticulously researched the names for the plaque. Meaghan Williams found and suggested we use John Brady for the carvings. Thea Newton’s knowledge and advice about the avenue and the tree species was invaluable. The support of Greg Nankervis and the Corryong RSL was also greatly valued.

“Committee projects are always team efforts. Lorraine Griffiths searched for and made contact with Irene, Josie and Ann, living descendants of Mrs Hamilton. Cathy Ross co-ordinated the project overall and persevered with Vic Roads and all the paperwork necessary. Greg Hillier and Don McKenzie spent many hours preparing the site and installing the different elements of the memorial.

“However, the work has not yet finished,” Ros added.

“Stephen is in the process of researching and writing biographies of the 127 men and women. These are very close to being published and will be available on the National War Memorial website ‘Places of Pride’ in the near future.

“Stephen has spent countless hours on the background work for this project. The documentation of the history of our service men and women is an amazing contribution from him to our community.

“Thank you to Stephen and everyone who has helped on this project.

This article appeared in Corryong Courier, 30 April 2026.
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