Snow gum forest to be bulldozed for view lines ahead of Anzac Day
Ahead of Anzac Day, a battle has broken out between those who want to restore sightlines to one of Australia’s best-loved war memorials and locals who want to save one of the last bits of the region’s snow gum forest.
Parks Victoria is pushing ahead with plans this week to bulldoze sensitive snowpack in an area that also contains endangered mountain ash to restore views of the Mount Macedonian Memorial Cross.
The works, which are expected to be completed by Anzac Day, have sparked anger from environmental groups who accused Parks Victoria of bypassing the local community and the Macedon Ranges Shire Council, which opposes clearing the trees.
Parks Victoria north-west regional manager Chris Mitchell defended the trees’ removal, saying the memorial was one of the most visited war memorials in Australia and attracted hundreds of thousands of people each year.
“This project will help preserve views that support the purpose of the monument, while keeping the impact on native plants and wildlife to a minimum,” he said.
Speaking from the mountain on Wednesday morning, Friends of the Earth veteran environmental campaigner Cam Walker said he could spot ash trees listed as endangered this month among the snow gums marked for removal.
Snow gums to be bulldozed form part of a rare and irreplaceable tree debris distribution and, unlike mountain snow gums, have no problem dying back, Walker said.
Only 21 hectares of snowpack remain in Central and Western Victoria.
“There is a sense that process was followed,” Walker said. “The community said no. The council said no. People feel crushed by the minister deciding to override all of this.”
Parks Victoria, which manages the subject area and surrounding area, approached the Macedon Ranges Shire Council in 2023 to clear mature snowpack around the memorial cross.
While council officers supported the proposal, councilors voted to refuse the permit; Instead they supported a motion describing the proposal as contrary to the objectives of the council’s planning scheme on biodiversity, environmental protection and the protection of water supply catchments.
Parks Victoria appealed the decision to VCAT but later dropped the legal challenge. Determining that the project was important for the state, the institution re-applied to the state government last year.
Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny ruled the project met the criteria for a government project and approved the works under a planning scheme clause that allows projects to bypass standard planning, permits and restrictions.
In a community update, Parks Victoria said the minister was confident community consultation requirements had been met.
David Mann, chairman of the Mount Macedon Memorial Cross management committee, said 0.9 hectares of trees would be removed. He hoped the cross site would be reopened for a dawn ceremony by Anzac Day, but if work was continuing at that time a ceremony would be held nearby.
Ash Wednesday wildfires ravaged the region in 1983, destroying nearly 80 hectares of snow gum and mountain ash. Since then, the snowflakes have regenerated into a healthy, mountainous, grassy woodland that partially obscures the view of the memorial cross.
Parks Victoria claims the cross is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register It contains a provision requiring that views of Melbourne from the cross and views of the cross from Macedonia and surrounding areas be protected.
Meanwhile, the inheritance registry It emphasizes the cultural, social, symbolic and spiritual qualities of the cross.
Victoria National Parks Association nature advocate Ben Gill said snow gums were part of a rare plant community that only existed in a few places. He said clearing trees for a better view was “completely contrary” to nature conservation laws and community expectations.
“The local council considered this proposal and rejected it due to its serious impacts on nature and strong opposition from the community,” he said.
“What we are seeing now is a backdoor process in which this decision is effectively overridden and allows the destruction to proceed.”
Work began this week to bulldoze the road around the area to be cleared before the trees were cleared early on Thursday.
Parks Victoria’s Chris Mitchell said the cleared viewing area would be “much smaller than in the past, in line with environmental and community expectations”.
Construction of the first cross on the site began in 1933 and was completed in 1935. The cross was funded by local William Cameron, who wanted to pay tribute to Australian soldiers and women killed in the Great War and provide jobs for people during the Great Depression.
By 1995 the cross had to be removed for safety reasons and brothers Bruno and Rino Grollo financed the demolition and a new reinforced concrete cross that replaced the original cross.
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