The first Honour Avenue in Kings Park was an initiative of Mr Arthur Lovekin of the Kings Park Board and dedicated to 404 fallen soldiers on 3 August 1919, on the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of World War I.

The families who dedicated the trees and plaques took an active role in the early care and maintenance of the trees and plaques, with the wider community assisting those who did not live close by. The West-Perth sub-branch (now Highgate sub-branch) of the Returned and Services League (RSL) generously gifted resources and assisted the Kings Park Board with maintenance.

The Honour Avenue Committee (now Honour Avenues Group) was formed through the RSL in 1947 to assist the Kings Park Board in the administration of over 300 World War II plaques in Lovekin Drive. The Honour Avenues Group are responsible for the maintenance and preservation of over 1,800 plaques along the Honour Avenues and the WA Centenary plaques along Fraser Avenue.

Further details of the plaques, including photographs, biographies and location maps, are available via the Honour Avenues Group website.

Applications for new plaques

Dedication ceremonies are held regularly each year for plaques approved by the Honour Avenues Group, with a limit of 12 additional plaques per dedication ceremony.

The criteria to apply for a new plaque are that the person:

• be born in, or raised in, or have enlisted from Western Australia;
• have no known grave or a grave outside Western Australia (i.e., the official memorial as determined by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is located outside Western Australia); and
• have served with Australian or Allied Forces or with qualifying organisations as determined by the Australian War Memorial (AWM) and have died within the qualifying periods for the National Roll of Honour as determined by the AWM.

Please contact the Honour Avenues Group for further information.