A special fig tree has been planted near Albury's St Matthew's Anglican Church as part of Remembrance Day commemorations.
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The sapling comes from Tobruk, the scene of a famous World War II siege involving Australian soldiers in battle against a German-Italian army in north Africa.
The diggers, who became known as the Rats of Tobruk, included members of the 2/23rd battalion, labelled Albury's Own, and that link in particular was being commemorated with the tree planting on Saturday November 11, 2023.
St Matthew's priest Father Peter MacLeod-Miller noted the original battalion banner was housed in his church before being consumed by a fire, which tore through building in 1991.
The president of the 2/23rd battalion association, Helen Schiele, escorted the sapling, which came from the original fig tree in Libya.
She told of how that plant held special significance given the bleak desert surrounds.
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"During the war soldiers would often congregate under this tree for shelter, sometimes using the fruits to replenish their depleted resources and then when the wind was prevailing, swing and sway with the tree," Dr Schiele said.
"This became an anchor for the men as they fought bravely against the German soldiers, so it is a great privilege that we are able to have this tree take hold in what is our spiritual home.
"Thanks for taking this on and taking the legacy of the men of the 2nd/23rd battalion."
Fr MacLeod-Miller joined Albury RSL sub-branch president Graham Docksey and Albury mayor Kylie King in planting the tree with church gardeners Betty Loorham and Robyn Gibbs assisting.
"This is more like the desert of Tobruk than anywhere else in Albury," Fr MacLeod-Miller said of the largely barren southside of the church where the fig was interred.
The planting came at the end of the annual Remembrance Day formalities inside the church.
Mr Docksey said there were higher numbers than usual, attributing the increase to November 11 falling on a Saturday.
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