A partnership involving the Melbourne Zoo, the Australian Defence Force and a Wollithiga Elder has returned an historic scar tree to Torrumbarry after 30 years of “city life”.
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For Professor Henry Atkinson, and the rest of the Wollithiga clan, it means the world to have their scar tree back home.
Prof Atkinson said he was elated when the decision was made to bring the scar tree, which was hundreds of years old, back to Torrumbarry, from Melbourne.
“Scar trees are trees that have had the bark removed from them by Aboriginal people,” Prof Atkinson said.
This particular scar tree has been at the Melbourne Zoo since the 1990s, where it was used for historical educational matters.
The bark from such trees was often made into a canoe, but in some cases was made into other various items, such as shields.
Unique markings were etched into the trees as a boundary marker, so clans were able to identify when they were in another clan’s territory.
Melbourne Zoo education officer Simon Rawson was trying to find out which First Nations clan the tree belonged to, so he could return it back to its rightful place after 30 years of displacement.
Mr Rawson managed to connect with Prof Atkinson, who, after visiting the tree, asked if the tree could be returned to Wollithiga land.
Prof Atkinson spoke with directors and managers who were instantly supportive of the idea.
The zoo’s sustainability department has large loading machinery that enabled workers to easily lift the tree from the ground on to a truck.
A truck provided by the ADF transported the scar tree to Torrumbarry where it will continue to be protected on private land owned by Tuesday Browell.
The scar tree was forklifted off the truck by ADF members, who placed it on a sandhill.
Prof Atkinson explained that the placement of the tree on the sandhill had incredible significance — the land being extremely sacred due to it being an ancestral burial ground.
He hoped that by the tree being placed here, younger generations could be educated about the importance of the tree and the elders who created it.
“Everything has a spirit, not just humans. There is a spirit in everything” Prof Atkinson said.
He said the spirit of the tree was now able to be reconnected with its ancestors, the Elders who crafted the scar on the tree.
The land on which the tree has been placed has a covenant on it, which means that all of the species of fauna and flora that thrive on the land are protected by law from any activity that may cause harm to any species that flourish there.
Trust for Nature helped to secure the covenant for Ms Browell in 1998.
Trust for Nature conservation officer Liz Newton said the land was to be used only for things that were in line with the covenant for ecological protection.
This means that all efforts must be put into the conservation of the land rather than ecologically harmful activities such as mining, building developments, hunting or clearing the trees from the land.
Ms Browell admitted it could be “a lot of pressure” trying to re-vegetate and keep endangered species alive while trying to keep feral pests out.
Although admitting the upkeep of the land was challenging, she was determined to protect the natural world that thrived there.
Her land is home to more than 120 scar trees, the majority of them being canoe trees.
“This place is a maritime museum, a shipwrights’ workshop, yet these scar trees stand unannounced and deserted — as if we are scared to acknowledge their story,” Ms Browell said.
Both Prof Atkinson and Ms Browell told The Riv that scar trees were often damaged by people who did not recognise them or were not educated on what they were.
“Scar trees stand hidden in the bush, some are cut down, some are burnt, some just decay into the earth. Many are hundreds and hundreds of years old and we still ignore them,” Ms Browell said.
“Scar trees are a part of our history.”
Prof Atkinson’s wife, Susan Atkinson, agrees.
“In western society we have books and records of everything written down,” she said.
“But here, the scar trees are the writing, they are the proof.
“This tree is proof that Henry’s people were here.”
After the tree had been settled on the sandhill, the atmosphere turned euphoric.
Members of the Wollithiga clan, the ADF, the Melbourne Zoo, and other community members stood side by side for a Back to Country ceremony.
“It’s an important day for everybody. Not just my family, but everybody,” Tara Atkinson, granddaughter of Prof Atkinson, said.
“It’s bringing a piece of home, back home.”
The day ended with a Smoking Ceremony performed alongside the new resting place of the scar tree.
The ceremony rids the bad spirits that may be attached to the tree from entering Country.
At this stage the tree is lying on its side but over the next few weeks, Prof Atkinson will work on getting the tree standing up by bracing it to a rigid object.
He will also cover the tree in protective oils and lacquers that will prevent it from being damaged.
Prof Atkinson is extremely grateful to those who helped throughout the process of bringing the tree home.