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Leichhardt Tree, Taroom

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36-540: Leichhardt Tree is a heritage-listed blazed tree at Yaldwyn Street, Taroom , Shire of Banana , Queensland , Australia. The blaze was made in 1844 by Ludwig Leichhardt. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. The Leichhardt Tree in Taroom, in the upper Dawson River district, is named for its association with the explorer Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt , who

72-630: A ketch of about twelve tons – up the Fitzroy River to the present site of Rockhampton. He was met by Charles, riding his horse Sleipner, on 1 September 1855. This event is commemorated by a statue of horse and rider on the river bank in Rockhampton. During later life he became a successful shipbuilder in Norway, where he built the Fram , the ship in which Fridtjof Nansen made

108-558: A familiar landmark in the town of Taroom, making a significant contribution to the streetscape of the town, well-known to all residents and often photographed by travellers. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. The Leichhardt Tree at Taroom is important for its association with Prussian explorer FW Ludwig Leichhardt, who played an important role in early non-indigenous exploration of

144-527: A staging post between Roma and Rockhampton . A post office was established at Taroom in 1853, a courtroom gazetted there in 1857, and the town was officially surveyed in 1860. At least two other blazes have been marked on the Leichhardt Tree. In 1893 the Dawson River flooded, reaching to the base of the Leichhardt Tree in Taroom. This level was marked on the tree, but is no longer visible; also

180-522: A surveyor's blaze had been marked on the tree by August 1916. In 1925 the Irrigation and Water Supply Department surveyed the area for a proposed dam site, at which point another blaze supposedly was inscribed on the tree - again no longer visible. By the mid-1970s, the tree had been heavily lopped and was suffering severe insect damage. In 1979 several cavities caused by previous lopping and breakage were plugged and sealed to prevent further rotting, and

216-695: A tree-lined drive can be observed opposite Archer Rd. This extends west for about 2,000 metres to the Gracemere homestead buildings, on the eastern shore of the lagoon. John Archer was captain of the schooner "Letitia" in 1844, and then the schooner "Clarence". In 1847 Captain Archer acquired a job managing Lucknow Station in Gippsland, Victoria and his first wife was buried there the same year. John met his brother Thomas in San Francisco in 1848. John

252-412: Is a mature coolibah ( Eucalyptus microtheca ), indigenous to the Dawson River district. It has a height of about 14 metres (46 ft), and a canopy spread of about 13 metres (43 ft). Its age is estimated to be at least 300 years. A sign placed in the branches of the tree reads LEICHHARDT TREE, but all blazes have been overgrown by the bark. A plaque attached to the tree is inscribed: Leichhardt,

288-530: Is based on Mount Archer , near Rockhampton. The mountain was named in honour of Charles and William Archer, who had named the Berserker Range and Mount Sleipner (both names derived from Norse mythology ) in 1853. Google Maps shows the central point of Gracemere as near the intersection of Lawrie St (Gavial Gracemere Rd) and Platen St. About 1,000 metres to the north is the intersection of Capricorn Highway and Archer Rd. With satellite imaging enabled,

324-594: Is thought to have blazed this tree during his expedition north from the Darling Downs to Port Essington ( Darwin ) in the Northern Territory in 1844–1846. Leichhardt, born in Prussia in 1813, was a student of philosophy, languages and natural sciences. He journeyed to Sydney in 1841–1842 with the expressed intention of exploring the interior of Australia , and studied the geology and botany of

360-767: The "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014). [REDACTED] Media related to Leichhardt Tree, Taroom at Wikimedia Commons Blazed Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 549986951 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:39:23 GMT Archer brothers The Archer brothers were among

396-735: The Brisbane River . There, near present-day Woodford , they established Durundur Station , a holding of 200 square miles (520 km ), which is equal to 128,000 acres (51,800 ha). Durundur is an aboriginal name for the Moreton Bay Ash ( Eucalyptus tessellaris ) The Archer name is seen in the main street of Woodford, and in Mount Archer about 12 km (7 mi) to the west. Charles Archer arrived in Australia in 1841, and joined his brothers at Durundur in 1843. He

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432-565: The Burnett River in the names of David and Thomas Archer. One of these was named Eidsvold, after Eidsvoll , Norway , where the Archer family had land holdings. The present day town of Eidsvold was named for the nearby property. The other, named Coonambula, was south of Eidsvold on St John Creek, a tributary of the Burnett River. Near the site of Eidsvold Station is present day Tolderodden Conservation Park. The association of

468-603: The New England Highway . The other was Emu Creek, a holding of 32,000 acres (12,950 ha) on Emu Creek, another western tributary of the Brisbane River. In 1847, Thomas Archer travelled west to the area named Fitzroy Downs by the explorer Thomas Mitchell , near present-day Roma , but did not claim any land. In 1848 he travelled north to the Burnett region, which resulted in two runs being acquired on

504-538: The Archer brothers to settle in Australia was David, who arrived in Sydney in 1834. He was joined by William and Thomas in 1838. Together, they planned to seek pastoral land on the Darling Downs . Delays meant they would be too late to secure good land, so this venture did not proceed. In 1841 David and Thomas, joined by their brother John, travelled to the upper reaches of the Stanley River , an eastern tributary of

540-486: The Archers with this name is the fact that Colin Archer was born in a house named Tollerodden , in Norway. Although not on the Burnett River, Maryborough was the main port for the Burnett region, particularly for the export of wool. One of the houses of St Mary's College, Maryborough is named Archer in honour of the contribution of the pioneering family to the Burnett region. In 1853, Charles and William Archer were

576-586: The Australian interior, particularly with his epic journey from the Darling Downs to Port Essington, which contributed significantly to European knowledge of the Queensland landscape. [REDACTED] This Misplaced Pages article was originally based on "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from

612-483: The Colonial Office was inconsistent with his holding of that job. He was replaced in early 1872 by Richard Daintree . Thomas Archer was Agent-General for Queensland from 1881 to 1884 and from 1888 to 1890. He was appointed C.M.G. in 1884. While serving as Agent-General he published pamphlets designed to foster interest in Queensland. Colin Archer was the first to sail a vessel – Ellida ,

648-417: The Darling Downs. The party left Jimbour Station , on the edge of the settled district of the northern Darling Downs, on 1 October 1844. By early November they had reached Juandah (now Wandoan ), where Leichhardt decided to reduce the party by two, these men returning to Jimbour. Continuing north, Leichhardt reached the Dawson River (named by Leichhardt in honour of a Hunter Valley settler), crossing it where

684-399: The Leichhardt Tree is a familiar landmark in the town of Taroom, making a significant contribution to the streetscape of the town, well-known to all residents and often photographed by travellers. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. Estimated to be around 300 years old, the Leichhardt Tree is

720-596: The Ruined Castle Creek area and the Expedition Range to the northwest. In late June 1845, John Gilbert was killed in an attack on the camp by Aborigines , but the remainder of the party survived and reached Port Essington, near Darwin, on 17 December 1845, completing an overland journey of nearly 3,000 miles (4,800 km). They returned to Sydney by ship in March 1846. Leichhardt's journey, and

756-641: The Sydney district before undertaking exploratory journeys between Newcastle and the Moreton Bay district in 1843–44. By mid-1844 Leichhardt was hoping to join a planned official New South Wales Government expedition from Sydney to Port Essington , but impatient with government delay and uncertain as to whether such an expensive expedition would be given official approval, Leichhardt mounted his own expedition, funded by squatter subscriptions. Leichhardt and 5 volunteers sailed from Sydney for Moreton Bay, where they were joined by 2 more men, and by another 2 on

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792-487: The bed of the Dawson River, on the west side of Yaldwyn Street reserve in Taroom, between Dawson and Kelman Streets. Yaldwyn Street forms part of the Leichhardt Highway, connecting Roma and Rockhampton, and is the main road in and out of Taroom. Although the tree's root system is largely covered by bitumen road, footpath paving and nearby commercial buildings, the tree appears to be in good condition. The tree

828-465: The earliest European settlers in Queensland , Australia. They were explorers and pastoralists . Seven sons of William Archer, a Scottish timber merchant, they spent varying amounts of time in the colony of New South Wales , mainly in parts of what later became Queensland. A substantial number of locations in Queensland were either named by or for them. They were, in order of birth: The first of

864-478: The explorations of Pemberton Hodgson in 1845, did much to open the way to further non-indigenous settlement in southeastern Queensland. Even before Leichhardt's journal of the expedition was published in 1847, word had spread of the rich pastures of the Dawson River district, encouraging squatters such the Archer brothers (1850) to explore the area more closely. By November 1845, Taroom Station had been taken up, and by

900-451: The explorer, passed over this track and marked this Tree in 1844. At the foot of the tree, facing east to the street, is a small concrete block with a metal plaque attached, on which is inscribed: THE LEICHHARDT TREE THE EXPLORER LUDWIG LEICHHART MARKED THIS TREE IN 1844 "LL.1844" DURING HIS OVERLAND JOURNEY FROM JIMBOUR QUEENSLAND TO PORT ESSINGTON NORTHERN TERRITORY THIS SETTING PROVIDED BY TAROOM LIONS CLUB Leichhardt Tree

936-634: The first Europeans to explore the Fitzroy River , which they named in honour of Sir Charles FitzRoy , Governor of the Colony of New South Wales . They explored the river valley and marked proposed boundaries for a new run before returning to the Burnett region. In 1855 the brothers began farming a run on the Fitzroy River, naming it Gracemere Station in honour of Thomas Archer's bride, Grace, whom he had married in Scotland in 1853. Gracemere homestead

972-571: The letter "L". The coolibah surviving in Yaldwyn Street, Taroom - with the blaze LL.1844 once visible - may have been one of these trees. In 1916 one L and part of the year 1844 was still discernible, but bark had grown over part of the date and the second L. In the mid-1970s the blaze was just discernible although unreadable, but it is no longer visible. Leichhardt crossed the Dawson River and stayed at Palm Tree Creek for several days before continuing westwards to Robinson's Creek, then crossed

1008-637: The time the Leichhardt pastoral district of 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) was proclaimed in 1854, most of the country had been taken up for pastoral purposes. The township of Taroom developed at the Dawson River crossing at the junction of several squatter tracks - one south to Juandah and crossing the Fitzroy - Murray-Darling watershed to the Darling Downs , one through the Auburn Range to Gayndah , and one southwest to Roma , and developed slowly as

1044-505: The town of Taroom now stands. Of the Dawson Valley, John Gilbert , a naturalist in Leichhardt's party, wrote: "One of the most beautifully picturesque and extensive scenes met our anxious gaze. The immediate vicinity of the hills was like park scenery - clear undulating hills, with here and there small clumps of brigalo [sic], while the sides of many of the hills were dotted with single scrubs, as if picked out by hand. Beyond this to

1080-533: The tree has successfully regenerated. On 23 October 1988, a monument was erected by the local historical society and tourism association to celebrate the Bicentenary of Australia and Leichhardt's 175th birthday. The town of Taroom is located where the Leichhardt Highway crosses the Dawson River, and the Leichhardt Tree is located about 150 metres (490 ft) up a steadily inclining slope from

1116-411: The westward, and round as far as we could see to the E.S.E was a carpet of evergreens for six or seven miles and then the high ranges rose up and formed a beautiful background to the most pleasing natural picture we have seen." It is thought that Leichhardt camped on the southern side of the upper Dawson, where Pemberton Hodgson , tracing Leichhardt's track in mid-1845, found 3 large gum trees blazed with

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1152-509: Was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1867 to 1869, and from 1879 to 1895. He served as colonial treasurer and minister for education from 1882 to 1883. He was an advocate of the idea of having Central Queensland declared a separate state. In 1870 he accepted the job of Agent-General for Queensland, but resigned when he realised that his plan to present a petition from the advocates of separation to

1188-437: Was accompanied by the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt , who stayed at Durundur for several months until early 1844. The country at Durundur proved unsuitable for sheep, leading the brothers to take up two runs further west in 1845. One of these was Cooyar, a holding of 71,660 acres (29,000 ha) on Cooyar Creek, a western tributary of the Brisbane River, near present-day Cooyar , 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Toowoomba , on

1224-440: Was built in 1858, overlooking a shallow lagoon known variously as Padgole, Farris, and Gracemere. The present-day town of Gracemere was named for the station. In 1860 Archibald Archer joined his brothers at Gracemere. At first both cattle and sheep were raised, but during the early 1870s the station switched entirely to cattle. The city of Rockhampton now stands on part of the original Gracemere run. Mount Archer National Park

1260-599: Was captain of the "Harriett Nathan" and Thomas had gone to the California goldfields. From 1852 to 1854 John - "Captain Jack" - commanded the barque "Fair Tasmanian" on the Hobart- Twofold Bay route. He then captained the brig "Retriever" until he and his third wife were lost when the "Retriever" is believed to have foundered off the coast of New Zealand after departing Newcastle, Australia. Archibald Archer

1296-469: Was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. Leichhardt's exploration of the Dawson River area paved the way for rapid pastoral expansion in the Leichhardt district from the mid-1840s to the early 1850s. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. Estimated to be around 300 years old,

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