Remnant hoop pine, Pine Mountain, Queensland. Photo: Gary Bacon.
Rare it is to have a definitive historical date and place for the discovery of a natural renewable resource that is the foundation of an industry which prospers to the present day. Source: Dr Gary Bacon AM. Australian Rural & Regional News
Tuesday 21 September 1824 is that note-worthy date, and we have a precise record of that discovery on the banks of the Brisbane River.
The King’s Botanist, Allan Cunningham, accompanied by the Surveyor General of the NSW Colony, John Oxley, had left their stranded boat on the drought affected river and took off on foot aiming at a mountain vista clothed with stately trees.
The King’s Botanist, Allan Cunningham.
They had to fiord the river three times to reach their destination. Both men of reserved character could barely contain their enthusiasm for the splendid sylvan view at hand.
Brisbane town 1831 from the south side. Note under Tower Mill the three pit sawyers with six stacked air-drying boards and three (hoop pine) logs on the bank.
Here are the botanist’s words from his journal (held at NSW State Archives):
‘Hitherto in our examination of this River, we have been only gratified with a distant view of the Pine; immediately we approached one of magnificent stature, the Monarch of these woods. It was a healthy well-grown tree, exceeding 120 feet in height with a trunk 3’6” diam. It was totally impossible not to halt a few moments to admire this noble tree.
Here are the surveyor’s words from his diary (held at John Oxley, Qld State Library):
‘We penetrated through a very thick brush abounding with stately and magnificent pines, which towered far above the other timber of the hill. Mr C(unningham) procured a couple of young cones, which satisfactorily demonstrated that the tree which had excited so much admiration was an entirely new species of the genus Auricaris (Araucaria !) being the first discovered in New South Wales, and decidedly the growth of the interior and not a coast tree. We measured one, the first we came to, the circumference of which was 10 feet. Many others were of greater magnitude, which was carried up perfectly straight without a branch to a height of from 50 to 100 feet, the whole height in the full-grown trees being at least 150 feet. To this stately tree Mr C gave the name of the Brisbane pine.’
Their effusive discovery words travel the timeline and elate us today.
Foliage and cone samples were collected in situ and eventually reached Kew Gardens in London where the taxonomists named the Moreton Bay Pine, now known as Hoop Pine, Araucaria cunninghamii, after the botanist who determined this was a new tree to science.
The Brisbane River exploration was part of the investigations undertaken in association with the establishment of the first penal settlement at Red Cliff Point in September 1824. When the brig Amity left for the return trip it had on deck hoop pine logs for assessment in Port Jackson. From then onwards Hoop Pine became a most desirable and valuable construction, furniture and naval timber.
Indeed, the relocation of the fledging settlement to the present-day Brisbane location in May 1825 was aligned to ‘facilitate the loading of timber that may be procured in the Brisbane River’. By 1830 there were 26 sawyers cutting in the district. By 1835 there were ‘no ship spars within 20 miles of the anchorage’.
Hoop Pine became the foundation of the Queensland Forest Products Industry for the next 100+ years and also after the establishment of the Queensland Forest Service the foundation of the Queensland Forestry Plantation enterprise. Today there are 47 000 ha of planted hoop pine on State Forests of Queensland.
Postscript. Using the recorded traverses of the two principal explorers Gary has designated the location of discovery and sampling on private property near Pine Mountain and selected a veteran specimen hoop pine for entry into the Queensland Herbarium records.
Dr Gary Bacon AM is a retired forest scientist, CEO Queensland Forestry, JAS_ANZ auditor and Adjunct Professor in Environmental Futures at Griffith University. He has a particular interest in the King’s Botanist, Allan Cunningham who was sent to Australia in 1816 by Sir Joseph Banks to collect plants for the King’s botanic gardens at Kew.
