Four thousand members of the New Zealand Medical Corps who participated in World War 1 were trained at Awapuni Racecourse between 1915 and 1919 [1]. The Awapuni NZMC War Memorial, dedicated to this Corps, was unveiled on 3 December 1929 [2]. An early photograph, dated circa 1930, shows the memorial with a Phoenix palm being clearly visible in the right foreground (next to the white dot imperfection) [3]. This palm is still there along with 9 others panted within 100 metres of the memorial structure. There is no record of the reason for choosing to plant the palms – there are also oaks interspersed amongst them - however, Phoenix palms have a strong association with war memorials, being commonly planted in New Zealand memorials for both World Wars. More clusters of Phoenix palms were planted in the grounds of the Awapuni Racecourse in 1938 [4], but aerial photos confirm that the cluster around the war memorial predated these plantings. They are some of the earliest plantings of the palm in Palmerston North, a city which has notable clusters of the palms (eg; Palm Drive, The Esplanade [5]). The memorial fell into partial disrepair after several decades, but as part of centennial commemorations for World War 1, the memorial was refurbished from 2014 on, being rededicated in 2016 (see image below). The palms are in very good condition, but are probably seldom viewed due to their slightly out of the way location (Lloyd, M., 2023).

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Mike Roche for some background information.

References:
1. ‘Awapuni Memorial Historic Association’, Manawatu Standard, November 30, 1929, p. 6.
2. Awapuni NZMC war memorial’, New Zealand History online, at: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/awapuni-war-memorial
3. Image credit: Palmerston North City Library, Awapuni Racecourse Memorial – K H Shea circa 1930.
4. ‘Awapuni Course Important Improvements’, Manawatu Standard, November 26, 1938, p. 17.
5. Cadwallader, B, 2023, New Zealand Tree Register entry MWR/G1902