Community
24 October, 2025
A special place of remembrance
A NEW memorial tree at Warrnambool’s Tooram Memorial Park is providing families with a special place to honour, remember and reflect on precious babies lost in early gestation.
The new Early Loss Memorial Tree, which gives families the chance to honour and recognise babies lost before 20 weeks’ gestation, was officially launched by Member for Wannon Dan Tehan during a moving ceremony last Thursday afternoon.
The project (which has been two years in the making) is the brainchild of local Rotarian Janet Blackley who saw the need for families to have a special place of remembrance.
“Babies lost prior to 20 weeks gestation cannot be buried in a cemetery and these families really need and deserve a special place where they can come to, remember and honour their little ones,” Janet said.
“All babies deserve to be recognised. This tree is not an imposing monument, rather a gentle and quiet place where people can return, reflect and feel connected.
“It’s a sign that no grief is too small to be acknowledged and that no child is ever forgotten.”
The tree, a sculpted metal artwork, is designed to hold up to 300 personalised tokens in the form of leaves or butterflies.
It was created through a partnership between the Rotary Club of Warrnambool, the Warrnambool Cemetery Trust and community members who have lived experience of loss.
One such local is Sarah Wallace, founder of The Wish Collective.
Sarah and husband Steven, who are today the proud parents of three year-old Rosie (and are soon to welcome a “little brother or sister” for her), have experienced six losses in the past and feel this new memorial tree will give families a “very tangible and very real” place to visit, reflect and honour those lost.
“I feel this entire space, incorporating the tree and the bench, is such a beautiful one.
“It represents a change in the way parents and families can start to process their grief, giving them a physical acknowledgment of their loss and a place to go.
“We know from our experience going through fertility treatments that the journey can be quite isolating, and pregnancy loss can be quite a difficult topic for some people to discuss – this shines a light on the topic and I feel so honoured to have been invited to provide input into this project.”
Having founded The Wish Collective in 2023, Sarah is now a strong advocate for those who have experienced the loss of a child, or who are expected to, and to date has distributed well over 150 pregnancy loss support kits.
These kits, which include vital information on resources available both at a local and national level, are distributed through hospitals and medical clinics across Warrnambool and Port Fairy.
Officially launching the memorial tree at Tooram Memorial Park last week, Mr Tehan congratulated all those involved for their initiative.
“This is a wonderful space of reflection and remembrance for local parents and families to come to,” he said.
“It is incredibly difficult to lose a child and when this occurs before 20 weeks’ gestation parents are often left with nowhere to turn, no place to stop and remember.
“This tree and this space will provide that for them and many others for years to come. It’s such a beautiful memorial and I congratulate all involve with this.”
Details about how families can request a personalised token will be released in the coming weeks.
