Monday, September 05, 2016

Arbor Perfectus

My boy calls this the 'Perfect Tree'!

(Khaya senegalensis)

It's a fully grown and perfectly formed African Mahogany (Khaya senegalensis), they planted 1,000s of these around Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. It's quite a healthy specimen of one of Darwin's most regretted plants. (they grow so large and are prone to falling over in the wind) This one is located on the site of the notorious Retta Dixon Home for Aboriginal children. There is a lot of shame associated with that site. The hostel has been pulled down and all that remains on the site are a few concrete footings, a bitumen road and some telltale introduced trees. It has remained undeveloped for years and only periodically used as a venue for circuses when they come to town.

Good riddance to the Home! To me the trees are a testimony to resilience but I wonder what previous residence feel about anything that remains as a reminder of what they went through.

The tree is huge and provides quite a bit of solid shade in the heat of the day.

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