The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue is Australia’s longest eucalypt memorial avenue, spanning almost 20 kilometres and including over 2,400 native trees commemorating those who served in World War II from Shepparton and surrounding areas. It is an easily identifiable landmark comprising of double-row, equally spaced trees on each side of the Goulburn Valley Highway from Seven Creeks to the Murchison-Violet Town Road.
The initial installation of nameplates and tree plantings were completed by Mr James Woodburn, to honour fallen soldiers after the death of his son Calder Woodburn who was lost along with his crew in 1942 whilst returning from a night mission flight over the coast of France. The nameplates and tree plantings were completed between 1946 and 1949.
In June 2023, Council and the Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue Advisory Committee were successful in securing a grant under the Victorian Government’s Restoring Community War Memorials and Avenues of Honour Grant Program, supporting the maintenance of war memorials. This grant enabled the identification, replacement and installation of nameplates for 54 fallen servicemen from World War II who came from the Goulburn Valley.
Investigations into replacement of the nameplates found that quite a number had been removed, vandalised or embedded into the trunks of their respective trees.
The new nameplates were installed on Friday 13 December 2024 by a Surveillance Manager from the Department of Transport and Planning, along with Council staff and contractors.
Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Councillor Shane Sali, congratulated everyone involved in restoring the nameplates and bringing this significant piece of history back to life.
“The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue Advisory Committee is made up of key stakeholders including the Shepparton RSL, Department of Transport and Planning, Greater Shepparton Heritage Advisory Committee, Strathbogie Shire Council and Heritage Victoria, who have all actively supported the project,” he said.
“Each member agency has contributed greatly to the project and their efforts have ensured that this restoration was possible.”
Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue Advisory Committee Councillor representative, Cr Paul Wickham, said conservation works such as this one were needed to ensure the integrity of the memorial was maintained.
“This is an important piece of history which recognises the thousands of servicemen from World War II who came from our region,” he said.
“The replacement of the nameplates was a team effort and a great step in ensuring the memorial is managed and maintained.”
The Calder Woodburn Memorial Avenue rest area is located adjacent to the Calder Woodburn Rest Area, approximately 20 kilometres south of Shepparton.
