A project to commemorate the centenary of Armistice at the end of The Great War (1914-1918) has been completed with the installation of a memorial rock and plaque in Drouin's main street.
The Drouin RSL sub-branch has worked with project partners including Baw Baw Shire Council to complete the new memorial which was unveiled on Sunday, August 31.
In 2018, before COVID halted everything, a bare stretch of nature strip on the path between Drouin's Memorial Park and the Drouin RSL rooms was noticed by the former Rector of Drouin Anglican Parish and botanist the Reverend Dr Dean Spalding.

The treeless stretch was immediately in front of Christ Church, the Anglican Church in Drouin.
Seeing the opportunity for a commemorative planting, Rev Dr Spalding contacted the RSL and council to begin a discussion that led to the planting of six Golden Elm trees to remember the significant service and sacrifice of Australians in and after the Great War.
The Golden Elm variety was chosen to complement the existing mature and young Elm trees in Memorial Park, and the golden hue honours the centenary.
Council supplied the trees which were planted with the assistance of young people of the church (Finn Langford and Merri Spalding) on October 5, 2018 and subsequently blessed in a commemorative service for the Centenary of Armistice on November 11, 2018.
The second stage of the project – the commemorative rock and plaque – were delayed due to fundraising and then the pandemic. However, recent efforts were able to generate the necessary community and business donations to complete it.
"The rock and plaque are equally as important as the Golden Elms," said RSL president Rod McNab. "The rock shows people that this is something important, and the plaque tells the story of why we must never forget."
"Golden Elms can live for 400 years" said Rev Dr Spalding. "Gold is an appropriate colour to mark a one-hundred-year anniversary. In 2018, we commemorated the Centenary of the Armistice at the end of World War I - a conflict which significantly shaped Australian identity through the ANZAC legacy and losses."
About 60,000 Australian lives were lost in World War I when the country had a population of a six million people. Another 60,000 lives were cut short in the following 10 years most likely from the effects of their service.
Drouin's Great War cenotaph names 66 young men who died in service during the 1914 to 1918 period. But it is likely that a similar number of local men died in the following decade due to trauma, injuries and illness sustained as a result of their war-time service - and the second wave of losses has until recently been forgotten and un-commemorated. In the period after the war, the average life expectancy of a veteran was ten years less than a non-veteran Australian male.
The six Golden Elm trees are a living reminder of those numbers.
The Golden Elms and commemorative rock and plaque project was made possible by the co-operation between Drouin RSL sub-branch, Baw Baw Shire Council, the people of the Anglican Parish of Drouin, Cuthbertson Quarries, and community donations.
Speaking about the project in Parliament last week, Member for Monash Mary Aldred acknowledged Rod McNab and Graeme Watts for their work on the "amazing project."
"They've done an absolutely magnificent job of planting elm trees which link to the Drouin RSL and other local community monuments like the cenotaph."