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Level of Significance

  • File
  • Local
  • Regional
  • State
  • National

Age (approx)

300yrs

Trees

1

Diameter

1m

Height - 14m

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1/5 images

Details

Common name
Yellow Box Canoe Tree
Botanical name
Eucalyptus melliodora
Other name
Canoe Tree
Type
Scar Tree
Condition
Good
Municipality
Act (ACT)
Location
Tharwa Drive Tharwa ACT 2620
Access
Restricted
Significances
  • Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander (Social)
  • Park/Garden/Town (Historic)
Date of measurement
17 Jun 2014
Date of classification
29 Jun 2014

Statement of Significance

Scarred trees are a rare site type in the ACT, and are becoming increasingly scarce due to land clearing, fire and natural attrition. This is
an excellent example of a scarred tree, being in good health and condition.
It is located within an historic precinct, which increases its scientific and
educational value. The tree is of high cultural value to the local Aboriginal community.

History

A large scar in a mature yellow box tree some 300 metres north of Lanyon homestead is believed to mark the outline of an Aboriginal canoe. Stone hatchets and wedges were used to strip off sections of bark to make shallow platforms and coolamons.
Accessible evidence of Aboriginal occupation is relatively rare in this area, and the survival of this living scarred tree is an important link with the earliest users of this land.

Location

Located 450 metres north-west of Lanyon homestead and 2.5 km north of Tharwa. The tree is alive and healthy and is protected by a small fence around it. Bark has been taken, which forms a long canoe scar approximately 2.5 x 0.4 metres. The scar is on the south-west side of the tree facing the Murrumbidgee River.