This morning, like every other morning, I awaken to the sight of this tree photographed through the open French doors of my bedroom. It’s a Eucalyptus Tenuramius more commonly known as a silver peppermint. Its age is around 100 years; not ancient yet, but worthy of respect.
All week I have been mourning the loss of this tree’s cousin, El Grande, a 350 year old eucalyptus regnans cooked to death in a Forestry Tasmania regeneration burn.
With a girth of 65 feet (20 metres), it was the largest tree in Australia and possibly the largest tree outside of North America. Try to imagine standing on it’s stump: a dance floor 24 feet across.
Has Forestry Tasmania shown any remorse? Hardly. Hoping that the public will forget about El Grande’s death, all they have done is issue a statement saying that it will take a year before it is known for certain if the tree is totally dead.
Frankly, I don’t think they give a damn. Forestry Tasmania’s willingness to protect El Grande and our natural heritage is on par with the US military’s defence of the museums in Iraq.
There is only one word in the English language that comes close to describing the outcome of their stupid, arrogant, idiotic, immoral, asinine, shameful, despicable, repugnant, offensive, ugly, illiterate, callous, heartless, brainless, heinous, vicious, foul, witless, depraved and unbelievable behaviour.
That word is “Tragic”.
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