Perth Voice Interactive

IN October 1915 Horace “Horry” Thompson planted a Moreton Bay fig near his Leederville home and told his family he’d see how big it had grown upon his return from the front.

Three months later he climbed aboard the HMAS Borda bound for France and never returned, killed by a shell at the Battle of Passchendaele.

Horry never came back but the tree still stands.

Horry’s grand-niece Fay Maughan has written the story of her grand-uncle and his tree, picking up a Vincent local history award for the endeavour.

For much of the information about the little-known branch of the family, Ms Maughan turned to town elder Dorothy Jenkins, born in 1920 and who lived in Leederville all her life.

She was the Thompson family’s neighbour and for most of the 20th century she stood vigil over his tree, ensuring it wouldn’t be cut down as so many were, making way for houses or the Mitchell freeway project.

“Dorothy was the keeper of that tree,” Ms Maughan recalls. “Dorothy used to go down there every day and make sure they didn’t bulldoze it.”

The story Horry’s Tree is now on file at the Vincent local history centre.

Vincent staff are now looking into listing the tree for heritage protection.

As for Ms Jenkins, she died in June at the age of 94, shortly before the story’s completion. But the tree still stands.

by DAVID BELL