When was Anzac Avenue first constructed?
19901954#26
Anzac Memorial Avenue was officially opened for traffic on 5 December 1925 by the acting Premier William Forgan Smith. A floral arch was erected in Petrie for the occasion, with the Mayor of Redcliffe, J.B. Dunn and Pine Shire Chairman, W Bradley, providing welcome speeches and thanking the government for its assistance. The party, in a long procession of cars, continued on to Redcliffe which was "en fete" for the occasion. The avenue was proclaimed as the best road to a tourist resort yet conducted in Queensland.
In the week the road was opened, Rothwell wrote to the Brisbane Courier to draw attention to the tree-planting aspect of the memorial avenue. Rothwell noted the road was already utilised by hundreds of motorists on Sundays and public holidays. He called on the public to assist financially in making the road an avenue from Kedron Brook in Brisbane to Redcliffe, "a glorious asset to the State of Queensland". The first plantings were to be concentrated on the Anzac Memorial Avenue section between Redcliffe and Petrie.
Anzac Avenue
19901954#1
Opened in 1925, Anzac Memorial Avenue (as it was originally named) is the longest World War I memorial avenue in Queensland and was the first bitumen motor road connecting Brisbane to the popular holiday resort of Redcliffe, and reflects the growth in car usage in the early 1920s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2009.
Anzac Avenue
19901954#17
On 21 June 1922, the RACQ presented the case for the road to Harry Coyne, the Queensland Minister for Lands. Coyne agreed the road would likely be gazetted as a main road on the undertaking that non-government capital would be raised to begin its initial construction, while also suggesting the name of "Anzac Memorial Avenue". The Anzac Avenue Memorial Committee was established with Rothwell as chairman. A fundraising figure of was set. This amount would provide for the wages of ex-servicemen employed on the road, while the Main Roads Board would bear the cost of construction materials.
Anzac Avenue
19901954#50
Gazetted in 1922 and opened in 1925, following an earlier route established in the 1860s, Anzac Memorial Avenue was one of the earliest roads in Queensland constructed by the Main Roads Board. The Board was established in 1920 to respond to the greater demands on the road network posed by increased motor vehicle usage in the interwar period. Anzac Memorial Avenue is important in illustrating the early stages of this phase in the development of Queensland's road network.
Anzac Avenue
19901954#41
Despite the construction of the Hornibrook Bridge in 1935 providing an alternative route by car to the Redcliffe peninsula, traffic volumes along Anzac Avenue steadily increased as the years went by, necessitating duplication of some sections of the road in the 1980s and the 1990s. This widening, although required in order to manage traffic congestion, resulted in the need to remove or relocate some of the tree plantings along the route, a move that was not without controversy at the time.
Anzac Avenue
19901954#21
The route was officially gazetted as the "Redcliffe Road" on 21 October 1922. Anzac Memorial Avenue was one of the earliest examples of Main Roads Boards' involvement in facilitating car-driven tourism in Queensland. The Board promoted Anzac Memorial Avenue for its dual purpose, as a road to a seaside resort that offered health benefits from a change of climate and scenic beauty, while providing developmental opportunities for the area. Until improvements to the South Coast and North Coast roads, Anzac Memorial Avenue was the premier road to a tourist resort from Brisbane.
Anzac Avenue
19901954#51
As the first bitumen motor road from a major urban centre to a seaside resort, Anzac Memorial Avenue is important in demonstrating the growth of car based tourism in Queensland in the 1920s and illustrates the growing importance of car access to the development of tourist resorts. Anzac Memorial Avenue catalysed the growth of Redcliffe as a major seaside resort for south-east Queensland during the interwar period.
Anzac Avenue
47297088#10
Some time after 24 May 1920 and before the end of July 1920 the main street of Beerburrum was metalled on its southern side to the width of to match the metal roadway on the north side of the street, forming a divided road. In the middle, a wide strip was ploughed and planted with trees in memory of the fallen soldiers of World War I. The Week newspaper reported on 21 May 1920 that the first tree (a camphor laurel) had been planted by General William Birdwood, who also named the street Anzac Avenue. The Brisbane Courier stated on 5 August that the Beerburrum State School pupils had completed the planting of Anzac Avenue with 17 weeping figs, 16 Washingtonia palms and 4 pine trees. However, early photographs show the avenue plantings to be weeping figs, palms and presumably camphor laurels. This project was completed in time for the visit of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) to Beerburrum on 3 August 1920.
Anzac Avenue Memorial Trees
19901954#37
Over time, Anzac Memorial Avenue has been widened to accommodate increased car usage. During the 1980s and 1990s, sections of the avenue were duplicated to form a dual carriageway. Some trees were removed during this time. In Pine Rivers Shire, the council and the Department of Transport adopted a design to preserve the Avenue during roadworks; however a number of trees were removed. In March 1993, Anzac Memorial Avenue was officially reopened by Queensland RSL President SW Kay and Pine Rivers Shire Chairman R Akers. Following the removal of a number of trees in 2006 for a transit lane, Queensland Transport and the Redcliffe RSL planted a memorial grove in Henry Pieper Park on the avenue at Kippa-Ring, with trees propagated from the slash pines. While originally named Anzac Memorial Avenue, the road is more widely known and signed as Anzac Avenue.
Anzac Avenue
19901954#34
Thomas Rothwell died on 28 January 1928 and his involvement with the Avenue was honoured on Sunday 9 April 1933 with the unveiling of the Rothwell monument by the Queensland governor, Sir Leslie Wilson. This stone obelisk was placed on a small triangular piece of land at the intersection of Anzac Memorial Avenue and the Deception Bay Road, later moving to a nearby park () when a roundabout was placed on the site. Rothwell bequeathed the substantial sum of to the tree planting committee, which was acknowledged at the unveiling as having maintained the project.
Anzac Avenue