Kingston Avenue of Honour

The Avenue of Honour is located along Kingston Road (formerly the Creswick-Newstead Road), 28km North-East of Ballarat in Victoria.

The Avenue was originally called the Shire of Creswick Avenue of Honor.  In 1995, Creswick Shire was amalgamated into the newly formed Hepburn Shire.

The community of the rural Shire of Creswick, centred on Kingston, planted 250 trees - predominately Dutch Elms - in August 1918 and a further 36 trees in 1919 to commemorate the men and women from the Shire who served their country during the Great War (1914-1918).  The Avenue of Honour starts at the intersection with Victoria Road on the southern edge of Kingston and runs approximately 2.9kms south towards the Midland Highway (A300).

 A Harcourt granite obelisk was erected near the intersection of Kingston and Victoria Roads to mark the beginning of the Avenue and was unveiled by Brigadier-General Harold ‘Pompey’ Elliot on 18 December 1927.

Sometime after the Vietnam campaign, a new plaque was added to the original obelisk expanding the dedication to include service in World War 1, World War 2, Borneo, Malaya, Korea and Vietnam.

The Avenue of Honour was rededicated when a cairn and new obelisk were erected 1km south of the original obelisk and unveiled by the Hon Michael Ronaldson MP on 11 November 2000.  This obelisk became illegible and a replacement granite obelisk and explanatory sign were erected by the Kingston Friends of the Avenue Inc in 2017.  Names are listed alphabetically on the granite obelisk, with the tree number beside each name.  The numbering of the trees commences at the northern end of the Avenue.

The Kingston Avenue of Honour is registered by the Heritage Council of Victoria, Victorian Heritage Register Number H2343.

 The Kingston Friends of the Avenue Inc can be contacted by email: kingstonfoa@gmail.com