Scarred tree

When I was out collecting my new reading glasses today, I spotted this old scarred and carved gum tree. It is most likely an Aboriginal scarred tree, showing a large gap in its bark. Aborigines scarred tree for various reasons.

When Aboriginal people scarred trees, they removed large pieces of bark and used them for traditional purposes. The wounds that scarred trees display remind us of the many uses Aboriginal people found for them.

Uses such as -
• resource harvesting, for example for canoes or containers
• food implements
• shields
• temporary shelters
• on initiation sites
• as tomb stones for their dead

I am sure this scar has nothing to do with canoes, but I would not be at all surprised if this tree was cut for some useful purpose, many years ago.

Bigger scar.