18-Aug-2022 Theme: 'Gum ghosts'

(1) Why were the ‘Twin Gums’ – a pair of ghost gums 16km west of Alice Springs – approved for heritage listing in December 2012? (bonus: what happened to the trees shortly afteward?).

Answer: The two trees featured in numerous Albert Namatjira paintings (bonus: the trees were destroyed by arsonists).

(2) In 2006 the City of Swan removed a roadside gumtree near Gidgegannup in the Perth hills, because it was attracting so many visitors the Council was worried about safety. Why did the tree attract so much attention?

Answer: It was the site of racing legend Peter Brock’s fatal accident.

(3) The Tree of Knowledge in Barcaldine, Queensland – poisoned with glyphosate in 2006 – marked the site of what famous event in 1891?

Answer: The founding of the Australian Labor Party.

(4) In 1996 a dead tree next to the Midlands Highway in Tasmania was painted bright red by the Landcare movement to highlight rural tree decline in the State. What happened to the red tree?

Answer: It was burnt down shortly afterward by vandals.

(5) What event does the long-dead ‘Old Gum Tree’ at Glenelg in South Australia commemorate?

Answer: Proclamation Day (the formal establishment of the colony of South Australia, on 28 December 1836).

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