If you look closely at veterans and the public paying their respects at
ANZAC Day services, you will often see a small sprig of rosemary pinned to
their shirts or lapels. This aromatic, perennial herb is native to the
Mediterranean region, and has become a symbol of Australia’s commemorative day
for a number of reasons.
Since ancient times it has been associated with the dead, and Egyptians used it more than 2,000 years ago to place on tombs. The smell of rosemary is also believed to improve memory, with stories that Greek scholars wore it in their hair to help them with their studies. Perhaps because of this, it has since become an emblem of fidelity and remembrance in literature and folklore.
Since ancient times it has been associated with the dead, and Egyptians used it more than 2,000 years ago to place on tombs. The smell of rosemary is also believed to improve memory, with stories that Greek scholars wore it in their hair to help them with their studies. Perhaps because of this, it has since become an emblem of fidelity and remembrance in literature and folklore.
It also has particular significance for Australians, as the herb can be
found growing wild all over the Gallipoli peninsular, where troops fought in
1915.
When a wounded digger from Adelaide was repatriated to the Army Hospital at Keswick, South Australia, in 1915, he is reported to have brought back with him a small rosemary bush dug up from the slopes and ravines of ANZAC Cove and it was planted in the hospital grounds.
Cuttings from this original plant were grown in nurseries and today can be found all over Australia. It is this original Gallipoli strain of rosemary that is worn on ANZAC Day, and also sometimes on Remembrance Day.
When a wounded digger from Adelaide was repatriated to the Army Hospital at Keswick, South Australia, in 1915, he is reported to have brought back with him a small rosemary bush dug up from the slopes and ravines of ANZAC Cove and it was planted in the hospital grounds.
Cuttings from this original plant were grown in nurseries and today can be found all over Australia. It is this original Gallipoli strain of rosemary that is worn on ANZAC Day, and also sometimes on Remembrance Day.
(Author, Matlida Dray, RSL, https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1642828296332865360#editor/target=post;postID=6416886332741702001)
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