The Walk • about the Walk

What is it? Where is it?

Soldier’s Walk forms part of the Queens Domain in Hobart Tasmania. It is an Avenue of Honour comprising 520 trees planted in 1918 and 1919 to commemorate soldiers, mainly from Hobart, who died in the Great War 1914-1918. The trees are predominantly Himalayan Cedar though Atlantic Cedars and Italian Cypress have been used as replacement trees. Of the original 520 trees, about 350 remain. Friends of Soldiers Walk Inc. were formed in 2002 to ensure the restoration of the Avenue.

The Walk on a spring afternoon

The Domain

The Queens Domain was gifted by Queen Victoria to the people of Hobart as represented by the Corporation of the City. It is home to many public facilities including the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, Government House, the Domain Tennis Centre, the Aquatic Centre, the old TCA ground, Crossroads Ovals, the Athletic Centre. In addition there are a number of important historical buildings such as the Gunpowder magazine and the Wireless Institute.

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History of the Avenue of Trees

The Avenue was originally known as the Soldiers’ Memorial Avenue but was renamed Soldiers’ Walk in the 1980s. It is the largest of over 40 Avenues of Honour in Tasmania that have been identified thus far.

The main part of the Avenue consists of four rows of Cedars set planted along the eastern slopes. The Avenue begins at the junction of Aberdeen St and the Tasman Highway next to the Aquatic Centre. The first 17 trees are in two rows and commemorate soldiers who died in the Gallipoli campaign. The first tree commemorates Private Arthur Adams, believed to be the first Tasmanian killed at the landing. In all 10 trees were planted for men who died on the first day and three who subsequently died of wounds, one as a prisoner of the Turkish army.

The Avenue then crosses Davies Avenue and broadens to four rows and moves around the Domain and passes between the old Tasmanian Cricket Association (TCA) ground and the Gunpowder Magazine where it narrows to two rows. Beyond this point it broadens once more to 4 rows. The Crossroads Oval that was built over 80 trees in the early 1960s interrupts the northern part of the Avenue. A small remnant of the Avenue is hidden in a copse of native trees at the Crossroads.

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Environment

The environment is largely white gum grassland with shallow soils over dolerite thus well drained. It is prone to drought; a situation worsened by the decreasing summer rainfall over the last 30 years. A least twenty trees have visibly deteriorated over the last two summers particularly the summer of 2003-2003, losing at least 10% of their foliage. The trees put on new growth with heavy spring rains but generally a hot summer means the trees are not able to support this growth in the longer term. The Domain is home to a number of rare and endangered plant species which actually thrive under the largest trees which create a suppression zone that limits the growth of larger grasses, thus the most exotic protects the rarest natives. Issues relating to the replacement of missing trees, maintenance of existing trees, replacement species and site interpretation, will all be considered as part of the Soldiers Memorial Avenue Management plan at present being compiled by a working group of Friends of Soldiers Walk and Council officers. It is to be submitted to Council in 2004.

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The Soldiers

The soldiers commemorated on the Avenue come mainly from the Hobart area.   Most of the trees were planted under the auspices of the Hobart City Council with 64 planted by the then-New Town Council. Trees were applied for with the qualification being a next-of-kin or other relative in the municipal area. Thus while most trees commemorate men from central Hobart between Upper Sandy Bay and Mt Stuart, there are men from around southern Tasmania, including Bruny Island, and other parts of the State and Australia, planted by widows, siblings and more distant relatives. More detail about the age, religious affiliation, ranks and units of the soldiers can be found on the Facts page in the Soldiers section of the site.

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