King Charles III gets his own tree at Diamond Park

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Murray Bridge councillors and council staff have gathered to watch Mayor Wayne Thorley upturn dirt on a tree and reveal a plaque to honour the coronation of King Charles III.

Mayor Thorley said that the council had unanimously voted on the commemorative tree planting and plaque over the alternative: lighting up the town hall in blue.

“We’d like a more-lasting recognition of the coronation,” he said.

“We thought this would be more appropriate, and Diamond Park is probably the prettiest garden in Murray Bridge, I’d say.”

Cr Fred Toogood, who recalled that Diamond Park had once had a rotunda and a live peacock on display, appreciated the planting.

“I think it’s nice to mark the coronation of King Charles the third, and it’ll be something we can watch grow,” he said.

Cr Karen Eckermann had mixed feelings about the meaning of the planting.

“I’m not sure if I’m a monarchist or not, but anything towards the greening of Murray Bridge and planting trees, I’m in favour of,” she said.

Council arborist Ian Millard did the preparation for the planting of the tree, a claret ash, planted around 20 metres from one planted for Queen Elizabeth II.

“The tree chosen for the Queen’s jubilee was a claret ash, so we decided to replicate that,” he said.

After the ceremony, Mr Millard flattened the earth with a different shovel, joking that the one used for plantings was the “ceremonial shovel” and didn’t do any real work.