Significant Trees

We went to the end-of-year meeting for the Friends of the Belair National Park today, and heard a really interesting talk on significant trees, both within and without the Park.

My attention was drawn to these Bunya Pines, both planted in the 1880's. You can see the size of them in relation to the Karka Pavilion (the oldest Pavilion in the Park), which is absolutely dwarfed by these giants.

Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii) is a native endemic to the region of South East Queensland. They are a reminder that this Park was actually the Government farm in the early days of the colony, and Old Government House - the Governor's old summer residence - is in the grounds of the Park. A lot of the grounds were planted as a pleasure park for the Governor in the very early days, apart from the farm lands.

I'm getting a book shortly on the history of the Park which will make fascinating reading.