TREE surgeons are confident they can save the Australian War Memorial’s most important tree, grown from a cone collected at the 1915 Battle of Lone Pine, which was lashed by storms in Canberra at the weekend.

The 35-metre tall Aleppo pine tree, planted in 1934, lost two of its huge lower limbs on Sunday when wind gusts and heavy rain swept through the city.

Arborist Geoff Butler, who assessed the tree yesterday, said with the right surgery the historic pine could live for up to another 75 years.

“We can never ever give a watertight guarantee, but we’re pretty confident in this case (the tree can be saved),” he said.

Mr Butler said further branches would need to be lopped to balance the tree, and water would be drained from its trunk. An external structure might also be erected to support the pine.

Strong wind rather than lightning strikes was blamed for the damage to the tree, which was weakened by fungus.

War Memorial spokeswoman Marylou Pooley said staff were thrilled the tree could be saved. “That certainly is a relief for the War Memorial,” she said. “It is our most significant tree in the grounds.”

Ms Pooley said the fallen branches would be turned into a sculpture or structure that would also serve as a memorial for those who fought at Lone Pine.

The pine tree was grown from a cone collected by a Digger at Lone Pine shortly after the bloody five-day battle that cost more than 2000 Australian lives, including that of his brother.

The cone came from pine tree branches that Turkish soldiers used as cover for their trenches.

The Battle of Lone Pine was the only successful Australian attack against Turkish trenches during the bloody Gallipoli campaign.

It was named after a solitary Turkish pine tree that stood on a hilly rise known as the 400 (ft) Plateau in the centre of the eastern line of the Anzac trenches.

The Digger sent the cone to his mother who cultivated a seedling that in turn was planted by the Duke of Gloucester at the War Memorial in 1934 in honour of the soldiers who fell in the battle.

Numerous descendants have been grown from the tree’s cones and live on at schools and RSL clubs around the country.

Almost 30mm of rain fell across the national capital on Sunday after two thunderstorms rolled across the city causing flash flooding, fallen trees and at least one collapsed roof.