Coronation trees
The wider community was invited to come and see the planting of a tree to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles Ill and the Queen Consort, Saturday, 6 May at 10.00am in Victoria Park, Thames (adjacent to the corner of Albert and Brown Street). Our Mayor Len Salt unveiled the commemorative plaque and tossed the soil.
Similar tree plantings have been occurred in 55 centres across New Zealand.
Kūaotunu Coronation Trees 1910 and 1936.
By Alastair Brickell.
Readers may be interested in this extract from Alf Simpson's book, ‘This is Kuaotunu’ (pg. 30). It describes the Kuaotunu School Coronation trees planted in 1910 and 1936 for the Coronation of Kings George V and the ascension of George VI respectively (Actual coronation was May 12, 1937).
The school stood at the junction of Waitaia Road and SH 25 and some of it eventually became the Kuaotunu Hall. The schoolmasters house is still there and is looked after by DOC but at this time badly needs attention.
I wonder if there's more Coronation trees around the district...?
Extract from This is Kuaotunu: “Mr Ormiston, one of the relieving teachers, though only a few months in Kuaotunu, was well known as a nature lover, and to many of his pupils his excursions into the bush with the children are well remembered. particularly to the "King Kauri," via the "TwinKauris"on the Mercurv Bay-Kuaotunu road. Three or four totara trees growing at the foot of the school hill were planted by the boys under his direction in 1910. This should serve as a record; the occasion being the accession of King George V. Also in the year 1936 at the time of the Coronation of King George VI, two small kauri trees, one foot high, were planted in the school grounds and are thriving.
(One was named “The Queen”, the other “The King”.
They are now, in 1954, grown to the following dimensions – in each case the girth being measured at 6 inches above the ground level: - the King - height 14 foot 1inch; girth one foot; the Queen - height 12 feet 5 inches; girth 7 ½ inches. The King is on the west side and the Queen being ‘to the east’.”
They were described in a previous report as “standing like sentinels on either side of the path leading up the hill to the school.”)