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The Sentimental Tree The Black Mulberry Interview with Ada M. Gay (born 4-7-13) Interviewed 1998 Ada has a very 'Special Tree' which grows at the backdoor of her family home near Swan Hill, Victoria, where she has lived for over 75 years. She is the last surviving member of her family, and the tree, which was planted by her father in 1920, is rich with childhood memories. "It's been a marvellous tree. I think dad planted it originally for shade. Magpies, Black-birds, Willy Wagtails, Sparrows and Top Knot Pigeons all find refuge in its branches. We used to climb this tree and sit up in it, with a billy hanging on a branch and Mum'd say, 'pick me some berries I want to make a jelly' Or 'I want to make a pie'. The food we got from it, we made jams and jellies and pies, it was a source of great enjoyment to us, especially every summer. Of course we always kept cows and we would separate the milk for our cream, and we used to have bowls of fresh mulberries with cows cream. It was beautiful. When the tree was fruiting, Dad used to come out every morning and say, 'Well I'm going outside for my tonic'. And he used to have a feed of mulberries. He used to think that they were good for the blood. He reckoned that they were blood purifiers. Every March after harvest we would have a harvest thanksgiving service at the church and we used to pick branches from the tree and decorate the church with it. Other people would bring along sheaves of hay and bread, or a jug of water or some fruit. The pulpit would be draped all around with leaves and fruit. It was lovely. When I think of the Mulberry Tree now it just means all my past life; all my childhood, all my adult life, my teenage life. We've always loved the Mulberry Tree. When I see this tree I think back about Dad, how in the days when there weren't many trees around here and Dad planted this tree and he looked after it and it grew. Some things stand in your memory, and you just can't always explain just what it is but ........ It's something you've known all your life I suppose, and it just becomes part of your life. |
The Rural Tree John Burbury - farmer and the 'RED TREE', Woodbury, Tasmania 1997 In early 1996, John Burbury, a 4th generation Tasmanian farmer, was approached by the local Landcare committee, with an unlikely request. In one of John's paddocks, which adjoins the Midlands Highway, (the main road between Hobart and Launceston), there was a large and very dead Eucalyptus tree, which Landcare proposed they would like to paint red. For the Landcare group, the 'Red Tree' was to give attention to the serious plight of Tasmania's rural tree decline. As John Burbury explains: "20 years ago, these hills were covered by trees. There were trees everywhere ! But the landscape has been changing subtly. You've actually got to look at old photos to realise just how much it has changed. I've probably always been aware of what was going on, but as a farming family we've been trying to survive in our own right. Anyway we painted the tree and I suppose the whole project changed my attitude. I now have an opinion whereas before I would have probably thought ...... I'll just leave it for someone else. Then in September 1996 someone burnt the thing down. Its message was destroyed, just for the sake of someone getting full at the pub and saying 'lets go and burn the bastard down'. I got wild, so I wrote a poem called 'The Red Trees' Lament' part of which says: When man stands up for an idealTo improve his lot and others He sends forth little rays of hope to shine down on his brothers. This ray then soon becomes a light That grows into a beam A beacon for the hopes of man Not just another dream. That act of vandalism created further energy for the whole idea. Our original committee eventually got together and decided to maintain the spirit of the original tree by doing the TREE sign, that you see here today. It's made of pine and was realised by the artist Ray Norman, Jack Jaffray, Landcare and others in March 1997, from a concept developed by Ray. The burning of the tree became mythology you know. 'It mythologies the area,' It's a symbol of questioning what's going on. You focus on different things. Instead of worrying about your bank manager, you worry about The Red Tree." |
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