Once upon a time on a farm we owned, we inherited a wonderful old gum tree, capable of sheltering countless families of birds and mammals and all manner of creepy crawlies, too.
We were told that his girth measurement indicated an age of well in excess of 400 years. That was in the 1980’s, and a recent Google satellite photo we investigated showed he’s still there. Isn’t that wonderful? Many times we were tempted to check about having him heritage listed, but never did for fear of the potential upheaval if he became famous. Selfish? Maybe… but he’s still there, and intact. I think our choice was the right one.
When he was just a ‘splinter’, these are some of the events and people that were happening around the world according to Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century#Musicians_and_composers
And if you want to get some sense of his size, this is the only photo I can find – sadly not focussing on his majestic presence, but on our farm and home at that time.
Our hero is the giant on the far right – living on a low point of our land – can we imagine had he been up on the hill from where I took the photo? Nonetheless, just see how he towers over the nearby sheds and consider we could drive our tractor and header into the middle shed with plenty of space to spare – and those sheds were built on land quite a few metres higher than the tree’s base.
Two questions pop into my head – why didn’t I take a photo featuring him? Blame it on the busyness of raising three kids, hubby having to take work in city to make ends meet, and trying to run a farm at the same time. Hmm… we were certainly younger then!
And why ‘he’, when so many lives were mothered by this gentle giant? I really don’t know. He just always seemed so strong and sheltering whenever I was ‘talking’ to him. I have never ceased wondering how many before me had taken their strength and comfort from his might as well. Of course you would already have guessed, I was a tree-hugger before those words were defined.
THIS old darling River Red gum was truly worthy of the word – ‘AWESOME’.
Christine
[…] Last year I wrote about this mightiest gum tree, one of my dearest loves from the first day I saw him, along with the only picture I have of our farm with my old friend as part of the scene. The story was called ‘Now THIS was Awesome‘. […]
I will see what I can do about a photo very soon! 😀
I too am a tree hugger. Your story touched me and I could sense him and your deep love for him. I have a tree that resonates with me the same way. It’s a Japanese maple that has been around a very along time. When he was sick I nursed him back to health and now he stand tall and beautiful again. Trees are truly amazing and we should learn to respect them for all they do and share. 🙂
Really beautifully written; I was captivated by the story, your story, of the old gum tree. Good to know he is still around.
Hello
I do not know it before that gum trees live that long . Trees have very important part in our lives and the way it gives , shelter , peace makes it more important.
I really liked the story and I can undersatnd the reason , why you could not take picture.
I am thinking about the time when you will be standing near that , how small you will be feeling at that time , it amaze us and feel us wonderful.
Some memories are so sweet to remember. Trees can be comforting and I love sitting under a big tree and reading a good book. Thanks for sharing your story. =)
Hi Christine. I did not realize gum trees lived to such an age. Clearly he has a place in your family history and your heart so thanks for sharing the story. Some things remain so clear in our minds that perhaps we don’t need a picture
Paul, I believe there are many even older along our River Murray. But this old fellow will always remain the closest to my heart.
I’m actually checking if a friend who lives not far from him can take a feature photo for me… IF she can fit all of him into a photo frame!
There is something strangely comforting about a really old tree.Oak is my favourite.
They can make you feel SO small and shrink your problems into insignificance. I love oaks too (… from tiny acorns and all that!) but Gums remain my ultimate favourite for some strange reason (?).
Perhaps that’s it, I love that we have favourite trees 🙂