The Local Arboretum: Noticeable trees and their stories

Here are six examples of cenotaphs, obelisks, or similar World War One memorial structures that all have phoenix palms beside them:

Source: Postcard of a war memorial, Akaroa. Ron Scarlett Collection, Canterbury Museum.

Source: Papakura-Karaka memorial, 2024, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 3003-0719

Source: Author, Pakaraka war memorial, July 4, 2023

Source: Author, Napier Memorial Square, 15 October 2023

Source: Author, Awapuni NZMC war memorial, July 5 2023

Source: Author, Old Levin Cemetery, soldiers section, July 5 2023

I spent over a year researching this phenomenon and, to cut a long story short, reached the conclusion that, just like in Australia, the phoenix palm had been used in New Zealand as a proxy for the date palm that Anzac soldiers encountered in Egypt and Palestine during World War One. That is, when war memorials were constructed in New Zealand after the war phoenix palms were planted as an associative connection to the environment where many New Zealanders lost their lives. Looking at the photos above helps to show why this was an interesting research project, however, there is much more to the story than can be summarised here. Consequently, interested readers are invited to follow the link below where they can access the full (nearly 10,000 word) account of the analysis:

International Review of Environmental History: Volume 12, Issue 1, 2026