The Duke of Kent, visited the National Arboretum of Australia on Sunday morning. Prince Edward was in Canberra to commemorate the centenary of ANZAC Day, and had attended a dawn ceremony at the Australian War Memorial with 100,000 other people commemorating the fallen of Gallipoli.
Other members of the Royal Family did the same on Saturday, with The Queen leading tributes at the Cenotaph; read about that here.
At the 250-hectare site, The Duke signed the visitors book and inspected a Hawthorn bonsai tree planted by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last year.
As President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Prince Edward took a look at the Lone Pines plantings, which were taken from seed of the Lone Pine tree, planted at the Australian War Memorial.
Assistant curator of the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia, Shannon Young, said Prince Edward had an impressive knowledge of bonsai and recognised several species.
“He mentioned that he had seen the bonsai in Japan and he commented that it was extraordinary that Australia had its own eucalyptus bonsai collection.”
Also in the arboretum are Turkish Pines, which are native to Gallipoli, Turkey; these were planted to mark fallen Australians in the line of duty.
Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Municipal Services, said that Prince Edward was impressed with the playground at the site: “It’s an adventurous playground and he commented on the fact that children these days are perhaps wrapped up in cotton wool. He was pleased to see something that has an element of risk and kids have to push themselves a little bit.”
Photo: CWGC
