Maranoa Regional Council to extend invitation to King Charles III to visit Roma to honour Queen Elizabeth II’s induction into Heroes Avenue
A council situated in regional Queensland intends to plant a tree to commemorate the late Queen Elizabeth II - and they want the newly-appointed King there to witness the event.
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Maranoa Regional Council has ambitious plans to invite King Charles III to Roma to visit the bottle tree which will be planted to honour the late Queen Elizabeth II.
At the March 8 Ordinary Meeting of Council, councillors unanimously voted to induct the late Queen into Heroes Avenue by planting a new bottle tree and erecting a commemorative plaque at the site.
The initiative is part of the council’s plan to join the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy project which aims to promote conservation and First Nations connection to the land.
Mayor Tyson Golder said nominating the Heroes Avenue bottle trees to be part of the canopy project was the perfect way to honour the Queen’s life and “make a statement”.
“This initiative is about greening the world and is an initiative of the late Queen, we should look at it as a way to look after our bottle trees of Roma,” he said.
MRC CEO Edwina Marks said signing the bottle trees up to be in this global project would create another layer of significance to the site.
“It will raise the profile of Roma to a higher level than it is today,” she said.
“It builds up layers of meaning, it will celebrate conservation and First Nations people and be a memorial for the Queen and our soldiers.
“(We will) extend an invitation to his Majesty King Charles, who after his coronation will most likely be visiting the nation within the 18 months after that.”
Councillor Cameron O’Neil said he thought the project would send a “very powerful message”.
“The bottle trees are an asset in our community that Roma is known for far and wide,” he said.
“If we can include that in a much larger global initiative that the late Queen initiated in the last decade, I think that can only be a positive thing.”
The motion went to vote and all councillors voted in favour with a 9-0 result.
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