Scramble to save Binnu Lone Pine after cyclone Seroja uprooted the historic tree

Rescue efforts are under way to save a descendent of the Lone Pine tree after it was uprooted when cyclone Seroja tore through Binnu.

The tree is understood to have been grown from the seeds of the Gallipoli Lone Pine tree — the only survivor of a group of trees cut down by Turkish soldiers to cover their trenches during the 1915 Battle of Lone Pine.

Some cones from the Lone Pine made it back to Australia, with a seedling planted at the Binnu Primary School in 1968.

Last week, State Emergency Services, the Australian Defence Force, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and New South Wales Rural Fire Service personnel were involved in a mission to save the tree.

According to a Facebook post by NSW RFS, the SES crews worked to clear fallen trees and debris from the driveway to allow Rural Fire Service members access to the property.

Empty hessian sandbags were placed across the exposed tree base, with about 1400 litres of water emptied over the makeshift wicking bed.

Binnu residents added their thanks on the post, with one woman saying the tree “holds so many memories” for local families.

Another woman praised the “ingenuity” and “determination” of those involved in the rescue mission.