A Goodbye to Big Trees

The Strzelecki ranges are probably the most biologically damaged mountains in Australia. Famed for its extensive tall trees and high rainfall, the Strzelecki ranges are now patchy remant rainforest pockets surrounded by pine or eucalypt plantation which is heavily posioned and sprayed to rid it of animals and competing plants. Forestry practice is so intense and severe as a result of our insatiable demand for paper pulp that most of the forests are to be logged in the next 50 years apart from the "core 2200 hectares", part of which forms Tarra-Bulga National Park. We are a mere 7km from here by the Grand Ridge Road (more on this later).

Last week we visited Callignee where the old tree stumps are on display. Wow they are huge, and Laurie says they have shrunk alot from what they were. What beautiful tree's they must have been. Our place also has a big stump (one of our many 'tourist attractions').























Stump dwarfs Laurie

















Sign says all big tree's were logged until exhausted by 1900.

Thus it took less than 60 years from the European discovery of the Strzelecki ranges to its decimation, and this was before industrial forestry. This is consistent with old photos I have seen of the period, including rich resource areas from Southern NSW and around here. They show deforestation, mud and erosion, shanty towns etc.























Kle discovers Ye Old Big Stump (it's bigger than it looks)