[1] The loss of lives during World War I had a profound impact upon the Australian population and memorials became a prominent feature in communities throughout the nation.

Such considerable growth increased calls for adequate roads in both urban and rural areas, not only for economic purposes, but also as routes for motor tourists.

Thomas James Rothwell, President of the RACQ from 1921 to 1923, was the key protagonist in establishing the Petrie to Redcliffe Anzac Memorial Avenue.

During the war, he was secretary of the Queensland Patriotic Fund and coordinator of the Returned Soldiers Transport Corps, eventually awarded an OBE for his services.

This push also coincided with the Returned Services League's public appeal of "Work Not Charity" in support of the large number of ex-soldiers unemployed at the time.

Publicity for the fundraising appeal for the Anzac Memorial Avenue appeared in the Brisbane press on 1 July with the rationale for supporting the proposal:[1]"Every motorist is interested in this scheme.

Anzac Memorial Avenue was one of the earliest examples of Main Roads Boards' involvement in facilitating car-driven tourism in Queensland.

The Board promoted Anzac Memorial Avenue for its dual purpose, as a road to a seaside resort that offered health benefits from a change of climate and scenic beauty, while providing developmental opportunities for the area.

Anzac Memorial Avenue featured the use of trachyte, a fine grained igneous volcanic rock sourced from the Beerburrum quarry.

[1] Work included constructing culverts to cross over Hays Inlet and Saltwater Creek, and associated earthworks to provide a stable base for the roadway in the often low-lying areas that the route passed through.

A floral arch was erected in Petrie for the occasion, with the Mayor of Redcliffe, J.B. Dunn and Pine Shire Chairman, W Bradley, providing welcome speeches and thanking the government for its assistance.

[1] In the week the road was opened, Rothwell wrote to the Brisbane Courier to draw attention to the tree-planting aspect of the memorial avenue.

He called on the public to assist financially in making the road an avenue from Kedron Brook in Brisbane to Redcliffe, "a glorious asset to the State of Queensland".

[1] On 7 July 1926 Rothwell and the president of the RACQ, Mr JE Carter, led a motorcade of guests from Brisbane for the official opening of Anzac Memorial Avenue, marked by a tree planting ceremony in Redcliffe.

[1] The Australian Governor-General, Lord Stonehaven planted the first tree, a Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) on the northern side of the Avenue, at the Humbybong Street corner.

Granting local school children a holiday, Stonehaven hoped they would be "guardians of the trees" realising that they are guarding not only a Queensland memorial, but one that will be recognised throughout Australia.

Lady Stonehaven, William Jolly (Mayor of Brisbane), JB Dunn, W Bradley and Mr Fraser East, President of the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia also planted trees.

[1][4][5] The building of Anzac Memorial Avenue reduced Redcliffe's isolation from Brisbane and consolidated its position as the city's seaside resort of choice.

[6][1] Until the late 1950s, when developers first began purchasing properties for subdivision, the landscape between Petrie and Redcliffe on Anzac Memorial Avenue remained predominantly rural, characterised by small mixed farms and sections of native vegetation.

In Pine Rivers Shire, the council and the Department of Transport adopted a design to preserve the Avenue during roadworks; however a number of trees were removed.

In March 1993, Anzac Memorial Avenue was officially reopened by Queensland RSL President SW Kay and Pine Rivers Shire Chairman Rob Akers.

[1] Other older trees have also not survived and records relating to the avenue once held by the RACQ and Main Roads Department no longer exist.

[1] Despite the construction of the Hornibrook Bridge in 1935 providing an alternative route by car to the Redcliffe peninsula, traffic volumes along Anzac Avenue steadily increased as the years went by, necessitating duplication of some sections of the road in the 1980s and the 1990s.

This widening, although required in order to manage traffic congestion, resulted in the need to remove or relocate some of the tree plantings along the route, a move that was not without controversy at the time.

The Board was established in 1920 to respond to the greater demands on the road network posed by increased motor vehicle usage in the interwar period.

Anzac Memorial Avenue catalysed the growth of Redcliffe as a major seaside resort for south-east Queensland during the interwar period.

[1] As a road constructed by returned servicemen, Anzac Memorial Avenue is a good example of a substantial scheme to assist ex-soldiers following WWI.

The construction of the road is important in demonstrating the involvement of government, civic bodies and the general public in addressing high levels of unemployment among ex-soldiers after WWI.

A landmark road in southeast Queensland, Anzac Memorial Avenue is important for vistas experienced while progressing along the route and the visual delight of stretches of striking plantings including poincianas, pines, cotton trees, eucalypts and the lush mango section.

After passing the Westfield North Lakes shopping centre, it proceeds north-east again through developing urban areas near Mango Hill, before crossing Hays Inlet at Saltwater Creek, and intersecting with state route 26 at Deception Bay Road.