Bunya Pine: Araucaria bidwillii

8/3/2019 Bunya Pine: Araucaria bidwillii

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L

indaCarroli&

JMJohnArm

strong Araucaria bidwilliiBunya Pine


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8 November 2011A grinding machinic soundpermeated the house from thestreet. John had already left andI ignored it. Just noise. By the

time I realised that invasivesound was heralding theremoval of a bunya pine, two-thirds of the branches weregone from this majestic giant.

For the remainder of the day, I

maintained a vigil, nothing dramatic,just quiet observation of the removal ofthe bunya pine at the back of the AspleyHotel. The 25 metre tree has been partof the local landscape for as long as I

can remember, having first moved toAspley as a child nearly 40 years ago.At chest height, the trunk could havemeasured about 2 metres in

circumference. John guessed that itmight easily be 100 years old.

The bunya is the first thing I see whenI leave my house; offering greetings that

reach into the sky. Friends on facebookshare our sadness at the destruction ofthis old tree as I post photos and updates.


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We had assumed that because it wassuch a prominent local landmark andsituated on a heritage listed property,

the tree itself was protected. Duringconsultations about the proposedbusway, we learned that many in thecommunity advocated for the

maintenance of the heritage values ofthe hotel, insisting on no impacts on thatsite. And more generally, the naturalenvironment was also highly valued.Sadly, though, the hotel owners havenot reciprocated by honouring a broadcommunity view about heritage valuesthat includes vegetation. Remindingourselves to be fair, we speculate about

whether the tree was diseased orotherwise afflicted. As a possibility, itsa minor consolation.

While other smaller trees were removed

from the site for the purposes of thehotels renovation, the bunya pine wasretained. This led us to believe it wasprotected. Prior to the redevelopment,

the previous owners cordoned off thetree during bunya season. While not aprolific producer of nuts, we did manageto scavenge some a couple of years agoand there were times when the heavycones would crash through the roof ofthe hotel extension, shattering theterracotta tiles. We regularly watchedas birds and possums took refuge on the

bunyas outstretched limbs, perched ata lofty vantage point.

After several phone calls, a Councilofficer confirmed that there was no

vegetation protection order on this siteand the tree could not be saved.


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A days work. Removal of the bunya pine fromThe Aspley Hotel on 8 November 2011.


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For those of us, like John and me, whovalue grand old trees more than we

value hotels, there is a sense of loss aboutits removal. As we witnessed, we feltpowerless. The tree symbolisessomething special about our locality andits natural history: its linkages to olderlandscapes of vast forests and culturalpractices such as traditional bunya feasts.It even featured on our Christmasgreeting one year. So I watched as the

branches were systematically removedand fed into a chipper, grinding andtearing this statuesque beauty to mulch.Sadly, not even the timber was salvaged

for some greater purpose than woodchip, making the grinding noise all themore menacing.

Streetscape prior to redevelopment of the hotel,note the Bunya and other trees as a welcoming

statement on the side pedestrian entrance(c. 2005)

The significance of the tree itsworthiness was overlooked during thedevelopment application process for

renovation of the hotel a few years agoand it didnt warrant any mention as amajor feature of the landscape of the siteor the local area. The opportunity to

introduce a condition to protect the tree,as a dominant feature of the localstreetscape and landscape, was not takenduring the planning and redevelopmentprocess. It wasnt anyones job to do that.

A century doesnt rate a second thought.


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Most of the locality was thickly forestedprior to settlement by farmers who

cleared the land. The bunya pine is animportant tree that proliferated acrossBrisbane and into the northern coastalareas and, of course, the BunyaMountains. Even the local area plan

recognised the bunya as meaningful,noting that the two bunya pine treesnear the intersection of Albany CreekRoad and Maundrell Terrace are

retained as natural visual markers of thelocation of the Centre. However, thereare no bunyas at this intersection andtwo bunya pines were removed fromthe McDonalds carpark at some pointin the last five years, prior to theredevelopment of the site, though I heardthat these were diseased or dying.Perhaps the reference in the plan was to

those trees. Alternately those trees havebeen removed and not replaced.However, if all those trees existed, thispossibly means that five distinctive

bunya pines were removed from Aspleyin a short period of time.

In an historic photograph of the originalRoyal Exchange Hotel (1925) located

further along Gympie Road, bunyapines, now long gone, line the main road.

Royal Exchange Hotel, Gympie Road, Aspley(1925). Source: Wikipedia


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Its awkward to admit it, but even asresidents, there arent many things we

really care about in Aspley. Its not anenvironment that engenders caring orcultivation to the extent that we, as acommunity, necessarily care for it.However, the bunyas, like the gum trees,

stand out (literally) as enduring livingthings that preside over this low rise,car dominated, drive-by, sparse andgenerally awful suburban environment.

While those trees noted in the local areaplan may have once visually marked thecentre, our bunya marked the edge.

Bunya pine, in process of removal, is in the middlethe photograph.

Streetscape with tree in process of removal

It was a landmark. It had presence inthe locality, rising above my street. Itgave the place character and it wasetched into local identity. It should be

cherished.

While the workers were on lunch, I tooka closer look at the pieces of the uppertrunk on the footpath. I didnt count therings but there were many in the freshlysplit wood. It was a well aged tree.


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Events like remind us that residentsshould take an active interest in localaffairs, more attentive to detail. It isobvious that private property ownersand the local authority are not concernedwith issues of cultural identity, placeand heritage unless there are regulations

and orders for them to either implementor abide by. Regulations, however, dontmake communities or places. If we donttend to our locality and care for it, we

will lose things that matter; things thatwe care about. Its dangerous for acommunity to be so oblivious and to justlet events like this pass.

By nightfall, the grinding had stoppedand the stump of the tree was levelledto the ground. After waking thefollowing morning, I walked across thestreet to take photos, posting them againto facebook where a friend responds,this is a crime.


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Bunya Pine: Araucaria bidwilliiLinda Carroli & JM John Armstrong

November 2011Produced as part of the Placing Project.http://placing.wordpress.com

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Bunya Pine: Araucaria bidwillii