- The felling of a beloved Perth tree sparked outrage
- Devastated politician calls for punishment of the guilty
There is shock and anger in a local community following the destruction of an 800-year-old natural wonder.
Local tour guide Peter Murphy said he was leading French tourists to a century-old eucalyptus tree in the Ferguson Valley, about two hours south of Perth, when he discovered the tree had been cut down to a stump.
“I took them there to see the tree, not knowing it was gone,” he told 6PR Perth’s Gary Adshead on Friday.
“I was devastated. I’m devastated.”
The tree, nicknamed the “Bob Brown” tree after the Tasmanian environmentalist and former Green Party senator, is believed to have stood there since the 12th century.
Calling 6PR, Mr Brown said he was “horrified” by the loss.
“I have seen this repeatedly, where trees have been destroyed, sometimes to get back at environmentalists, but often for no good reason,” he said.
‘It is incomprehensible to me why they would want to prune a natural tree by putting a fence around it to keep visitors at bay (and prevent) falling branches.
The 800-year-old Bob Brown tree in Western Australia’s Ferguson Valley after being cut down
The 12th-century tree was a popular tourist attraction and sacred to the local Noongar people.
“That’s what you do with other trees, that’s what you do with ancient ruins, that’s what they did at Stonehenge.”
The Western Australian government’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions acknowledged it hired a contractor to prune the tree in Wellington National Park to keep fallen branches away from visitors, but had no intention of cutting down the tree.
“DBCA has hired an arborist to remove the fallen branches and address the hazard,” the department said in a statement.
‘DBCA met with the contractor on site prior to commencing any work to identify the scope of what was required.
‘DBCA contacted the contractor and there was an obvious failure in communication on the part of the contractor as the instructions on the pruning works to be carried out were clear.’
Politician Bob Brown believes it should be a crime to cut down such a historic and significant tree
Mr Brown suggested that those responsible should face legal proceedings.
“I think it’s criminal behavior,” he said.
‘This tree was already in existence in the 12th century, if the dating is correct. It has great significance for the Noongar people.
“It was a great source of inspiration and wonder, possibly for another century or two, but that was not taken into account.”
Mr Brown said he had written to Western Australian Premier Roger Cook about the incident.
“Locals are devastated,” Brown said.
Mr Brown compared the situation to the felling of the iconic Robin Hood tree in Britain last year, speaking to 9News.
The ancient Sycamore’s Gap tree was felled against Hadrian’s Wall, a World Heritage Site, in September 2023.
The famous tree attracted thousands of tourists and landscape photographers every year and was featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The night-time pruning sparked outrage at the time.
Two men were later charged over the incident.
“People are being arrested for defending trees, it’s time they arrested people for destroying trees,” Brown told the network of the Ferguson Valley tree.