This is our daily post that is shared across Twitter & Telegram and published first on here with Kindness & Love XX on peace-truth.com/

AceNewsRoom in Kindness & Wisdom provides News & Views @acehistorynews

AceHistoryDesk – Hiding in plain sight at Anglesea Barracks in Hobart, the oldest Australian Army barracks still in use, is a solid piece of history easy to miss.

It’s a quirky artefact of past practice, nestled in the trunk of a Eucalyptus globulus, a blue gum, thought to be nearing 200 years of age.

Photographs from the mid to late 1800s show a healthy and growing tree that began to decline in the 1900s.

By the 1980s, the tree was rotting and riddled with wasps. At the recommendation of an arborist, half a cubic metre of concrete was poured into the ailing tree to stabilise it.

Although almost grown over, the concrete heart of Anglesea Barracks blue gum is still visible today.

Chair of the Tasmanian Arboriculture Organisation, Rebecca James, said examples of concrete-filled trees can be found in other parts of Australia.Almost four decades on from pouring, the concrete has almost disappeared under new growth.(ABC Hobart: Lucie Cutting)none

Concrete the solution for ailing trees

In the mid-1980s, contractor Mark Sherman was installing a communications tower at Anglesea Barracks when he received an unusual request for concrete left over from the job.

An arborist had come to inspect the ailing eucalyptus tree greatly impacted by rot.

“We’d sort of laughed and joked about filling it with concrete,” Mr Sherman said.

“[The arborist] turned straight around and said ‘well that’s probably the perfect thing’.”Mark Sherman was given the task of filling the blue gum with concrete in the 1980s.(ABC Hobart: Lucie Cutting)none

The cavity was cleaned of decay and later that week Mr Sherman used the leftover concrete to fill the tree.

It’s the first and only time he has poured concrete into a tree.

In an almost 40-year career attending the barracks, Mr Sherman has watched the concrete slowly disappear under new growth.

“The tree’s health now is probably better than what it was in those days,” Mr Sherman said.

“I guess it’s been one hundred per cent successful. The tree is still here, still standing.”A photo taken in the 1980s clearly shows the freshly-applied concrete.(Supplied: National Archives of Australia; NAA: B6295, 6335Q)none

Tree’s life documented in photography

Because of the tree’s central location at the barracks, almost its entire life span has been captured in film and photography.

An 1860s image that shows the blue gum in the distant background places the tree at upwards of 160 years in age.The earliest photograph of the blue gum dates back to the 1860s, seen in the far distance.(Supplied: Tasmanian Archives)none

Kate Hibbert, the environment and sustainability manager for Defence in Tasmania, said the tree could be closer to two centuries old.

“There’s drawings earlier than the 1860s photograph where it’s not shown, but photos provide probably a more accurate truth,” Dr Hibbert said.

“The drawer may have chosen to include it or not include it, depending on what they wanted in the picture.”

The tree began to deteriorate in the 1900s.

It appears heavily pruned in a 1930s photograph, then by the 1980s concrete can be seen in the tree’s middle.

Regular use of sonic tomography, a method that detects decay and structural issues, shows an expansion of strengthened and healthy wood on the tree.

“I think it’s still got a bit of life in it,” Dr Hibbert said.

“It’s had an interesting journey.”A younger tree can be seen behind what is now the Army Museum of Tasmania with troops in parade in 1898.(Supplied: Tasmanian Archives)none

Common practice now phased out

Concrete was “probably” phased out soon after the Anglesea Barracks blue gum stop gap, according to Rebecca James, chair of the Tasmanian Arboriculture Organisation.

Expanding foam was then used to fill gaps in trees, until a shift in understanding lead to a focus on preventative measures.

This included proper pruning and mulching.

“As more research is done our understanding of the way trees respond becomes better,” Ms James said.

“Botanists and arborists started to understand that trees are dynamic, living organisms. They need to move.”

In some instances concrete can seal in moisture and encourage decay, doing more harm than good.

That was not the case for the barracks blue gum, which indicates good health through wound occlusion over the concrete.

Examples of the now phased-out practice can be seen in other parts of Australia, along with other bizarre additions to trees.

On Tamar Island in northern Tasmania an oak tree has engulfed a steel plough left leaning on the tree decades earlier.

Star pickets and bolts are “classic examples” of items found embedded in trees, Ms James said, once used to either support a tree or fix a split in the timber.A forgotten plough has become engulfed by an oak tree on Tamar Island.(Supplied: Explordia)none

“I know of a practising arborist who has been on-site, cutting trees, and all of a sudden there’s sparks coming from the tree,” Ms James said.

“The funniest things get embedded in trees.”

FEATURED ABC HISTORY NEWS REPORT

Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily  and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and comment thank you