Colin Newport and Trevor Neale, Historians, Allora Advertiser

A link has been made between the pine trees planted at the Showgrounds, the planting of the trees for celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Queen Victoria in 1897, and the planting of the trees in ‘Mayoral Row’ in 1905. In fact, they were planted on three separate occasions.

The trees at the Allora Showgrounds were planted in 1895 after George Moulday of the ‘Mount View’ nursery at Goomburra donated ten pine trees to the Show Society.

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Queen Victoria in 1897, money was raised by public subscription, subsidised by the Allora Municipal Council, and twenty-one trees were planted on the major intersections of the town. The Aleppo pine trees were supplied and planted by George Moulday. The last of these trees, on the corner of Forde and Warwick Streets, fell over in February 2017.

At the same time as the official tree planting, private citizens were invited to supply and plant their own trees. Two of these were planted by Henry Reppel in front of his baker’s shop in Drayton Street. One blew down in November 2008 but the other one still stands in front of what is now 19 Drayton Street. William Deacon was the mayor at the time and it is believed that the Aleppo pines on the Deacon property on the corner of South Street and Haig Road may have been planted then.

Another Aleppo pine tree is believed to have been planted on the Recreation Reserve at the same time. This tree now stands in the grounds of the Allora State School and in 1992 the then School Principal, Peter Doherty, was responsible for having this tree recorded on the National Trust Register of Significant Trees.

In 1905 the Allora Fallen Soldiers Memorial Committee was handed the trusteeship of the nine-acre reserve on the corner of Raff and Warwick Streets by the Allora Municipal Council. This became known as the Soldiers’ Memorial Park (now the Stuart Henry Memorial Park). The Brisbane Botanic Gardens supplied 120 trees, the first of which was planted by the mayoress, Mrs Whitman. William Whitman, the mayor, paid for the trees facing Raff Street, which after planting, became known as the ‘Mayor’s Row’.

It is not known if the Aleppo pine tree which blew down in William Street last Thursday night has any connection with the above tree plantings. The house at 18 William Street in front of which the Aleppo pine stood (and the adjacent bunya pine still stands) was built for John and Charlotte Reid in 1915 and the trees may date from then.

Huge tree crashes down

This was the scene on Friday morning in William Street Allora.

On the previous night this huge Aleppo pine came tumbling down, luckily falling across the street towards the Showground Pavilion and not damaging the nearby homes.

This article appeared in Allora Advertiser, 17 June 2026.