Memorial tree and garden bed at DFO, 2018. Photo: ABC News
A few weeks ago I watched a report from Channel 7 on the small aircraft crash at Essendon Airport in 2017 which killed five people, including four passengers from Texas. They'd taken the flight to play golf. I later did an internet search on the crash, and found an article written on the anniversary of the crash which showed a memorial planted at DFO near the site of the crash. They planted a Japanese Maple in a garden bed shaped like the Star of Texas, as in the photo above.
Last week I was at DFO and decided to have a hunt for the memorial. It had been a few weeks since I had looked at the photo, and didn't remember the details clearly, so I inspected the trees planted along the side of Spotlight, where the plane had fallen to earth, but couldn't see anything that looked like a star-shaped garden bed. I trekked all over the place before I thought I should probably find the photo again on my phone. Needless to say it was in a spot I hadn't looked at, opposite Spotlight, near the roundabout. It was made somewhat harder by virtue of the fact that the tree had disappeared.
The tree appears to have been broken off at the bottom some time ago, but the star-shaped box hedge has been well maintained and looks terrific. It would be nice to see the tree replaced, and as the garden bed is otherwise unmarked, a small explanatory plaque might be good as well.
Sources
Code 1:Minute by Minute., Essendon Plane Crash. Screened on Channel 7 on 1 March 2023, 8.30 pm on Channel 7. (Available at 7+ On Demand.)
