The Fan Palm (Washingtonia robusta) behind 29 High Street in Willunga was planted circa 1918 by Eva Collins (Aldam) in memory of her brother Edward Collins who was killed in Flanders in 1917.
Born at Carey Gully, Edward Ernest Robert Victor Collins was the eldest son of Robert and Sarah Collins. On 12 October, at the age of 28, he enlisted as a driver in the Australian Army.
He was posted to Belgium in 1917 where, on 4 October, he fought in the Battle of Broodseinde near Ypres in Flanders. Heavy rain and shellfire devastation made driving difficult and dangerous, restricting the routes on which guns and ammunition could be carried and making vehicles easy targets for enemy gunfire. Edward’s death was recorded on 14 October 1917, one year and two days after he had enlisted. He was buried at Broodseinde, the site of the battle that took his life. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Edward’s brother Herbert Collins had also enlisted, was wounded, and survived the War.
Edward’s sister Eva Collins trained as teacher and in 1914 had joined the staff at Willunga Primary School. In July 1915 she married Wilfred Aldam, son of Thomas Storey Aldam of Willunga. Eva and Wilfred had seven children, notably a son born in 1921 whom they named Edward, after Eva’s fallen brother. The family lived at 29 High Street in Willunga.
The Washingtonia Palm had become a talisman for soldiers who did not return from the War. Most probably in 1918, as a memento mori of her loss, Eva planted a Washingtonia palm outside her kitchen window at 29 High St, where she could look out and remember her brother Edward.
The tree is now included on the National Trust of Australia’s Significant Tree Register, a permanent reminder of the strong link between trees, history and patriotism.
