Legerwood Carved Memorial Trees

The Legerwood Carved Memorial Trees is an outdoor war memorial in Legerwood, Dorset Council, north-east Tasmania. Originally 25 trees planted in 1918 to honour local soldiers who served in World War I, the trees declined and were carved between 2001 and 2004 by chainsaw sculptor Eddie Freeman into individual sculptures depicting each soldier's life and service. Set in Legerwood Memorial Park on Ringarooma Road, it is a distinctive avenue of honour and cultural landmark.

Visitors can expect an open-air memorial park along Ringarooma Road with 25 carved tree stumps lining the roadside reserve. Each stump is carved into a detailed sculpture representing the individual soldier it commemorates, with plaques providing names and service details. The setting is a grassy park with mature trees, picnic facilities and interpretive signage. Visitors can walk along the avenue, view sculptures up close, read histories and photograph the carvings in a quiet rural village environment.

Planted in October 1918 as an Avenue of Honour with 25 trees to commemorate local men who enlisted in World War I, including those who died in service. After the trees died in the 1990s due to disease, Dorset community commissioned chainsaw sculptor Eddie Freeman to carve the stumps from 2001 to 2004, with each sculpture researched to reflect the individual soldier's pre-war life and service, preserving the memorial's function.

Serves as a significant Anzac and community remembrance site for north-east Tasmania, representing rural Australian commemoration traditions. It is a notable example of adaptive memorial conservation where a living avenue was transformed into sculptural memorials, maintaining local identity and honouring service and sacrifice.