December 4th, 2024AIDS Memorial Tree plaque unveiled

I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. So wrote the poet (Alfred) Joyce Kilmer. Last Thursday, just a few days out from international World AIDS Day, a special tree beside Lake Daylesford – an autumn blaze acer to be exact – came in for a bit of extra media attention.

The young AIDS Memorial Tree that’s been re-planted at Chatfield Reserve on the banks of Lake Daylesford was officially recognised with the unveiling of a  plaque marking its significance.

The unveiling was timed especially to coincide closely with World AIDS Day, which has been designated December 1 each year since 1988.

A little leafy history

The young acer tree that formed the focus of last Thursday’s gathering had previously been temporarily removed from its location during landscape works on Chatfield Reserve in 2023 to ensure its protection, but has now been returned.

A bronze plaque affixed to a rock at the base of the tree was unveiled at last Thursday’s special event attended by Hepburn Shire Council CEO Bradley Thomas and mayor Cr Don Henderson alongside leaders and representatives of the LGBTIQA + community.

“In the ‘80s at the time of the pandemic there were people including children dying all over the world and there was so much stigma attached which now fortunately has gone,” Cr Henderson recalled.

The ChillOut Festival committee also held a Daylesford community walk to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, setting out from the Grove of Gratitude at the south end of Lake Daylesford.

Sunday’s late afternoon walk ended at the AIDS Memorial Tree site at Chatfield Reserve, and ChillOut Festival committee treasurer Meredith Johnson says that since its inauguration last year, the walk has now become an annual fixture.

Words: Eve Lamb