Friday 22 September 2006

Death of a cedar

The short walk down to this last remaining giant tree only takes about ten minutes. Read the information signs along the way and learn about the logging history of this area. There are two separate viewing areas so that you can take in the sheer size of this colossal tree. Nobody knows why this lone tree was spared when all the others were logged. But it is a stark reminder of how logging has changed the nature of the rainforest.


But even axe and saw couldn't compete with the thuggish force of Cyclone Larry. Winds from the tropical storm brought down the 500-year-old giant in March.

The Gadgarra red cedar (Toona ciliata) was about 35 metres tall and 7 metres in diameter—an enormous tree that must have resisted many cyclones during its lifetime. But as the sign at the viewing platform says '... and along came Larry'.