Landsborough Tree
Landsborough Tree is a heritage-listed tree at Burketown, Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 August 1992.[1]
Landsborough Tree | |
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Landsborough Tree (before it was burned down) | |
Location | Burketown, Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia |
Coordinates | 17.7391°S 139.5648°E |
Official name: Landsborough Tree | |
Type | state heritage (landscape) |
Designated | 21 August 1992 |
Reference no. | 600374 |
Significant period | 1862-2002 |
Location of Landsborough Tree in Queensland Landsborough Tree (Australia) |
History
The Landsborough Tree marks the site by the Albert River where explorer William Landsborough established a depot camp while searching for the missing Burke and Wills expedition in 1862.[2] He buried supplies near the eucalypt tree in case the explorers should come up upon it; he carved the word "Dig" into the tree.[3]
The brig Firefly used in the search was abandoned nearby on the riverbank.[2]
In December 2002, vandals set the tree alight, causing the trunk to fall over.[3] In 2007, it was described as "nothing but a small charred stump", but by June 2009 there was a sapling "replanted" alongside the dead tree to replace it.[4]
References
- "Landsborough Tree (entry 600374)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- "Burketown: a Matilda byway". Travel Action Matilda Country Magazine. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- "Fury over burnt explorer's landmark". Sydney Morning Herald. 24 December 2002. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- Martin, Richard J (September 2013), "'Reading' the Leichhardt, Landsborough and Gregory explorer trees of northern Australia", Cultural Studies Review, 19 (2): 216–236, ISSN 1446-8123