By JESSE GRAHAM
AN AVENUE of Honour commemorating Healesville’s Diggers will be unveiled this Friday, replacing the town’s old monument in the lead-up to the Anzac centenary.
On Friday 17 April at 2pm, Casey MP Tony Smith will join members of the Healesville RSL and residents at Le Pine Funerals on Maroondah Highway for the unveiling of the town’s new Avenue of Honour signage.
RSL Commemorations Officer, Bob Gannaway, said the original avenue of honour was a tribute to the town’s founding families, as well as Diggers from the area who served in World War I, and stretched from the BP service station site down to past the Terminus Hotel in a straight line.
The avenue, still featuring many of the original trees, is now significantly shorter, but will feature newly-made signboards at either end, emblazoned with names from the original honour board that now resides at the RSL.
The new signboards were funded by the Casey Centenary of Anzac Committee, through Mr Smith, and will be easily accessible for visitors and residents alike.
Mr Gannaway said the signposts would be mounted on trees by an arborist and placed next to the road, with plenty of parking spaces nearby.
He said that he hoped residents would take the time to stop by the signposts and learn more about the town’s soldiers in the lead-up to Anzac Day on Saturday, 25 April.
The Healesville RSL will host its annual Anzac Day dawn service from 5.45am at its cenotaph, followed by a march at 10am.
Yarra Glen will also have an Anzac Day march.
The Mail will be publishing a special Centenary of Anzac edition on Tuesday, 21 April, with more information about services and historical stories about soldiers from the area.
