The stately avenue of thirty-six scarlet oak trees north of the Taueru River was planted following World War Two to commemorate the war dead of the Maungaraki District. The oaks are a poignant memorial to the region’s thirty-four soldiers who never came home from the two world wars, and whose names are engraved on the memorial on the south side of the river. The two extra oak trees are locally thought of as ‘guardian trees’.
Each Anzac Day, locals remember the name of each soldier as they walk through the oaks and across the bridge to the memorial for a dawn service.