Community
10 October, 2025
A special place of remembrance
FAMILIES who have lost babies before 20 weeks’ gestation will soon have a special place of peace, reflection and remembrance.
A new memorial at Warrnambool Cemetery Trust’s Tooram Memorial Park (on Hopkins Point Road) will soon be complete.
The ‘Early Loss Memorial Tree,’ a two-dimensional sculpted metal artwork, has been designed to hold up to 300 personalised tokens in the form of leaves of butterflies.
Until now, Warrnambool has had no memorial for babies lost before 20 week’s gestation.
The concept for an early loss memorial was first championed by Rotary Club of Warrnambool member Janet Blackley and readily adopted by the club’s Board and members.
The initiative was developed in partnership with the Warrnambool Cemetery Trust and community members with lived experienced of loss.
Each token on the tree will carry a message chosen by parents, families, or loved ones who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant death.
These tributes may honour recent losses or those carried quietly for many years when fewer opportunities existed for public mourning and acknowledgment.
For those who bear this sorrow, the memorial will offer a gentle and enduring way to honour a life that was, and remains, deeply loved.
It will be a place not only for grief, but also for connection with others who share similar experiences.
In both its form and purpose, the tree symbolises memory, resilience, and love that endures.
This is not intended as an imposing monument, but as a subtle offering where families can return to and speak the names and stories that may otherwise have gone unheard.
The memorial offers an enduring way to honour lives lost too soon and to recognise grief that is often unseen.
“The tree is a gentle and quiet place where people can return, reflect, and feel connected,” project co-ordinator and Rotarian Janet Blackley said.
“It is a sign that no grief is too small to be acknowledged, and no child is ever forgotten.”
The project has been two years in the making and is now nearing completion.
A community opening ceremony will be held at Tooram Memorial Park on Wednesday, October 16 at 2pm.
Details about how to request a personalised token will be shared in the coming weeks.
Through this project, the Rotary Club of Warrnambool, the Warrnambool Cemetery Trust, and all those involved hope to offer comfort, connection, and healing to everyone who carries the memory of a child lost too soon.
