photographer CAROL FREEMAN
What makes a tree significant?
Plenty of things, according to the Hobart City Council’s assessment criteria. It could be outstanding aesthetic value; exceptional height, trunk circumference or canopy spread; age; cultural value such as relationship to historic events or people; value within a natural landscape, park or garden; or rarity.
There are currently more than 200 trees listed on the City of Hobart’s Significant Tree Register. It was initially compiled by the National Trust of Tasmania, but now includes trees nominated by members of the public. The register aims to recognise the value of trees to the urban environment. But more than that, it celebrates and protects their existence.
Some of the oldest trees in Hobart grow on The Domain. A group of 24 manna gums (also known as white gums or ribbon gums) are a remnant of the grassy woodlands where once the muwinina people collected the sweet, crumbly, manna or gum (hence the term “gum tree”) that the tree exudes after injuries by insects. Early Europeans described the substance as “sweeter than the sweetest sugar and softer than ice cream”. The tree’s scientific name, Eucalyptus viminalis, means “bearing shoots or wickers for basket work” ─ another use for the tree. In his book, Where Song Began, Tim Low mentions that manna produced by this species provides food for millions of birds, while the Significant Tree Register notes the trees’ significance as a “historical reminder of Aboriginal cultural values”. With climate change and hot dry summers, these venerable trees are threatened with die-back, so it is crucial to preserve what is left of them.
With the arrival of Europeans, non-native trees began to be planted in Hobart. Many trees near Domain House are listed on the register. The feathery silver-grey foliage of an atlas blue cedar (Cedrus atlantica “Glauca”), planted c1896, contrasts with the green of the deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara) beside it. They are part of a row of exotic trees planted along the fence in front of the university building in 1895 and others selected by the caretaker in 1913. The blue cedar is native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria, so does well in Tasmania’s cool climate. The deodar comes from Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan and north-central India. Its botanical name derives from the Sanskrit term devaduaru, meaning “wood of the gods”, and among Hindus it is considered divine.
These trees are passed by hundreds of pedestrians as they walk from the city to parked cars in the Glebe, but how many are aware of their origin, age and history?
There are significant trees in the busy CBD area. Three dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) grace the front of the former Commonwealth Bank building at the northern end of the Elizabeth Street Mall. They provide shade in what would otherwise be a stark built environment. These trees are an ancient species, the northern hemisphere equivalent of the wollemi pine, and were once thought to be extinct until a grove of plants was discovered in western China. Several years later, their seeds were disseminated to botanic gardens throughout the world.
At the far end of Collins Street, two impressive yellow box eucalypts (Eucalyptus melliodora) dominate the front of the sandstone building that was a brewery and flour mill in the 1850s. Covered in starry, creamy-white flowers in spring, the trees were selected because they “provide much-needed shade and greenery in this city-fringe location”. Their nectar-rich flowers are a food source for insects such as butterflies and caterpillars, which in turn attract native birds. Bringing birds to the city is another advantage of trees in inner city streetscapes.
Some of the most interesting trees on the register are associated with historic sites. Two horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) in Arthur Circus, Battery Point, were planted on the tiny village green soon after Governor George Arthur sold allotments in 1847, in one of Australia’s first subdivisions. The area where the trees stand appears on the auctioneer’s leaflet as Pleasure Grounds and one of the points of outstanding significance is their aesthetic quality, especially in Spring when erect panicles of flowers sit like candles on the branches. In the 1930s Arthur Circus was a poor area with cottages housing large families. Children must have played conkers with the tree’s seeds on warm evenings until, as former resident Bill Foster notes, they were called home for tea.
Not only individual trees, but hedges and avenues are on the register. The Linden Avenue at Anglesea Barracks in Davey Street was planted by Commandant RD Broughton in 1860 to provide formal access to the military barracks. The trees are now heritage-listed. There are many linden avenues around the world, including the Berlin’s famous Unter den Linden that runs from the Brandenburg Gate to Museum Island. The trees in that avenue were planted in the late 17th century, destroyed during successive German regimes and finally replanted in the 1950s. The European linden or lime tree (Tilia × europaea) lives to great age. One coppice in Gloucestershire is estimated to be 2,000 years old.
At the property Werndee, in Auvergne Avenue, Mt Stuart, a “hedge” stand of 100-year-old Bhutan or Himalayan cypresses (Cupressus torulosa) was planted for the Premier of Tasmania in 1903. The trees are deemed significant for their “unique location” and “contribution to the landscape”. The dense, triangular form is accentuated and accommodated by a long paling fence with a scalloped upper edge. The trees’ cones are distinctive, consisting of round pods arranged on short stalks and familiar from school plantings. The Bhutan cypress is considered a fast-growing, cool-climate tree that is ideal for a screening hedge. It is an impressive sight rising above Augusta Road.
Also in Mt Stuart are two majestic Tasmanian blue gums (Eucalyptus globulus) that tower above the expansive view from Darling Parade. The palawa people used the close-grained wood of this species for spears, and its bark to make canoes. They also applied its leaves as poultices for wounds and inflammation and inhaled their odour to treat chest colds, just as we do now. The inclusion of blue gums on the Significant Tree Register acknowledges Tasmania’s floral emblem and reminds us of their stunning presence, even in urban areas.
How much do we remember of the trees in our schoolyards that we played under day after day for years on end? In the grounds of Princes Street Primary school in Sandy Bay are two London plane trees (Platanus acerfolia), each with a seat around its base. This species is a hybrid of the American sycamore and the Oriental plane ─ a product of travel, colonisation and trade. Although the species’ origin is not known, it’s believed to have been planted in England as early as the 16th century. The trees are popular in streets all over the world and valued for their pollution resistance, as well as temperature and water control. Every autumn they produce clusters of flowers that become spiky seed balls that children gather for craft and games.
In Congress St, South Hobart, a fascinating old tree was nominated for the list by its present owner. The twisted or corkscrew hazelnut (Corylus avellana “contorta”) is in the garden of a house built in 1923, so it’s probably close to being a centenarian. The species has gnarled and contorted branches and long golden catkins in winter, and this specimen is so large that it requires regular pruning. It is known for attracting bees, birds and butterflies. Its place on the register is justified by its interesting form, its size and the rarity of the species in Hobart.
An ancient native olive or Tasmanian iron wood (Notalaea ligustrina) in Old Farm Road, just above Cascade Brewery, is an example of a species with an expansive canopy. It is more than 100 years old, with branches covered in frilly, pale green lichen. These olives are native to undisturbed forest in south-eastern Australia, especially along riverbanks and rocky gullies in Tasmania. This example stands on the banks of Hobart Rivulet – you can hear the babble of water below it. The trees’ timber is known as silkwood and they have clusters of oval, berry-like fruit that varies from white or pink, to purple. Its presence in native forests gives shelter and food to many small birds, and this one has an inviting bench beneath it.
Trees give us oxygen, store carbon, stabilise the soil and give life to animals, insects and birds. Tasmania’s extraordinary carbon negative status is dependent on the continued existence of trees ─ not only in its vast forested areas, but also in its towns and cities.
So if you are lucky enough to walk or drive along Hobart’s streets and admire one of its many trees, be aware that you can find out its origin and history and then make sure it survives into the future.
Dr Carol Freeman is a Hobart-based researcher and writer. Her work appears in books and academic journals, exhibition catalogues and art magazines on topics that connect art, science and history. Her book Paper Tiger: How Pictures Shaped the Thylacine, is published by Forty South. More about her can be found at carolfreeman.net.au.
