The Peppercorn tree, botanical name Schinus molle, was introduced into Australia from its native Peru and other parts of northern South America. It is generally of non-uniform shape, and unsuitable for lumber. The wood is hard; and was one time said to be useful for saddle-making. The bright pink peppercorns can be used for making “pepper”, although the species is unrelated to black pepper (Piper nigrum). The tree has a generally spreading form, and its ability thereby to provide shade, coupled with its dry climate tolerance, probably explains its widespread distribution throughout drier parts of Australia. The Peppercorn, however, is not only a sentinel tree by rural dams, it is equally ubiquitous in suburban allotments. The Peppercorn is a lowly, unspectacular, no fuss survivor, and generally unremarked……..
Occasionally around here we pause and say “aren’t we lucky?” Although framed as an interrogation we don’t expect an answer. The words are really a declaration disguised as a question. We know we are lucky, but it’s important every so often simply to put the words out there. Apart from the fundamentals of family and health there’s the amazing luck of living in Australia: with democratic government, with an orderly society, with high-standard healthcare, with a moderate climate, with community affluence, and with time to enjoy leisure. Forget the shortcomings: the wheat growers used to judge their crops against a “fair average quality”, and by any measure life in Australia musters above a fair average quality.
One of the features of our community affluence is the ability of our civil society to pursue endeavours and interests down rabbit holes that would not even exist in poorer societies. One such is the interest taken by municipal authorities in neighbourhood trees and treescapes. Hence, the municipality of Boroondara (where I live) has a Significant Tree List, a list with some 700-plus entries. Boroondara has an area of 6000 hectares (60 square kilometres), and is roughly 12 kilometres from Melbourne’s central business district. It comprises the suburbs of Hawthorn, Kew and Camberwell, which amalgamated as Boroondara in 1994.
The Boroondara Significant Tree List dates from May 2001. I communicated with Council on this subject in March 1996, and there was no such List at that time. I wrote about a proposed real estate development a couple of streets from where we lived. The affected property contained a huge River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). The tree was against the fence-line along the rear laneway, and was in no way impacting the proposed building works, but I could imagine a careless chain saw aggressively dealing with potential future problems while the opportunity presented. I suppose I was being a busy-body, but I was being nice about it! Anyway, the Council subsequently advised that a potentially overhanging limb had been lopped, but that the tree was “saved”. At the time Boroondara had no “tree controls”, although I was told that the National Trust administered a Register of Significant Trees – on which Boroondara had a number of registrations. Additionally, the Council somewhat gratuitously advised: “However, it would be anticipated that this River Red Gum would not meet the fairly strict criteria for classification, which are essentially based on a tree’s significance with respect to its age, shape, size and rarity.”
The tree had been saved, and I chose not to follow up with argy-bargy about how some municipal pipsqueak might like to define significant “age”, significant “shape” and significant “size”, and ruminate on the “rarity” of a massive remnant tree in a Boroondara back yard.
Seven years later the tree was butchered half away; and, in retrospect, the blister I then sent to the Council surprises even me. I didn’t reference the Visigoths, but the Vandals were front and centre. My request for further communication was not ignored but, in the end, I was never given an explanation or advised of an outcome.
Now hear this: you are about to be one of the first to experience an apology from me. I have just now returned to the tree, after 28 years. I now see that those years ago it was not butchered, it was shaped. Clearly, a massive alternative leading stem had been taken off, and the surviving main trunk had been able to assert its dominance. These years later the tree is straight and true, and a fine specimen. Here it is. In the second photograph you can see where the renegade limb was removed.
Now, to the point of this story. I think it was in 2011 when I obtained a copy of the then Boroondara Significant Tree List, and noted that on the list were eight Peppercorn trees. I’d had a specific interest in Peppercorns because at the rear of my mother’s home at 123 Prospect Hill Road, Canterbury, there was (and is) an imposing Peppercorn – quite tall and, although there is a split trunk, the girth below the forking is impressive. So, I trawled through the Boroondara listing for other Peppercorns; and then went on a go seek excursion. My conclusion: that the specimen at Prospect Hill Road, while not the biggest or grandest, was the equal of some already on the List - so go for it. And go for it I did. The case was duly allocated a reference number and a Statutory Planning Arborist Team Leader. That person was tasked to arrange with the present owners “a suitable date and time for inspection”. That was 14 years ago. I have heard nothing further.
I have just now requested, and been emailed a copy of the current Significant Tree List. It is unchanged from 2011 – except that some entries have been over-stamped REMOVED. There is no explanation for removals from the List – whether the particular tree was removed with or without Council blessing; whether the tree died, whether the tree was re-classified as no longer significant – but, helpfully, the previous entry remains visible below the REMOVED stamp, and there has not been a re-numbering of the remaining catalogue. Most notably, though, if there have been any additions to the List since 2011 those additions have not been reflected in the on-line information available to the public.
Although my arboreal interactions with Boroondara have been somewhat jaundiced I can’t deny that their Significant Tree List is a work of some professionalism, with each entry accompanied by a full technical description of the tree, including estimated dimensions and a photograph. One criticism of the List is the idiocy of allocating one reference number only to bulk entries such as an avenue.…….the result being that while the number of listed Boroondara trees totals more than 700, the List has 470 entries only. No matter, the List is what it is, and the individual tree descriptions are detailed. The published Significant Tree Study runs to 627 pages.
What follows is the curriculum vitae of each of the Boroondara listed Peppercorns, plus my recent photograph. Sometimes, the trees are in rear gardens or otherwise inaccessible for full imaging; and the photographs taken from the street fail to capture the size or the “look”. The below hash-tagged numbers correspond with the Significant Tree List.
#6 33 Beaconsfield Road, Hawthorn
This earliest Peppercorn on the Boroondara listing was clearly a self-select – huge bulging trunk, in-your-face on the street frontage, almost at the centre of the block. It was in the first batch of evaluations, on 19 December, 2000. The arborist was effusive: “This tree is significant for its outstanding size and for being an outstanding example of the species. The tree also holds high aesthetic value and is particularly old. Located on the boundary of the property the tree makes a magnificent contribution to the streetscape. “ Despite this, the arborist noted “significant dead wood present, with several rot patches around the base of the trunk”, although “rot posing only a minimal threat to the tree at this stage”. The arborist recommended removal of stubs in the canopy, with general health check and dead wood removal to be carried out every three years. The entry does not seem to have been updated since it was posted 24 years ago.
#55 6 Hillcrest Road, Glen Iris
This tree is the outlier in this collection. It is alive and well, but it has been removed from the List. Thank the Virgoan mentality or the gods of completeness, that the editors of the list have not simply left a blank; or, worse still, removed the entry and moved every subsequent number up a place. No, very sensibly, the entry for number 6 Hillcrest Road has merely been over-stamped as REMOVED, and the particulars remain visible. But there was something wrong: the photograph of the deleted tree was nothing like the actual tree! The peppercorn beside the front gate is an interesting specimen because it forks from the base, but it is not huge, so one can imagine it being included initially on the List only to be removed after later reconsideration. Here it is.
But faced with the inconsistent photograph I made a return visit to the property. I was hovering at the front gate, still making no sense of the situation, when my papers blew into the front garden. Hasty collection, and back to the car…..only to be followed by the householder (who had been working in the front room and saw my incursion and quick exit), and could she help? I briefly explained my mission, and my confusion; and she remarked: “Oh, we have a bigger Peppercorn down the back!” Indeed. And here it is.
This is the tree that was formerly on the Significant Tree List. That entry contains some history: “Pepper tree was located within the original home in the area (2 Hillcrest Road), forming part of the boundary planting in the cow paddock, prior to the subdivision of the land. Another pepper tree is situated in the front north-west corner of the site, and is also believed to have been along the boundary of the original property.” Moreover, “The pepper tree in the rear garden of 6 Hillcrest Road, Glen Iris, is significant for its age, size and overall aesthetic value. With the canopy overhanging Nyora Road, the tree makes a significant contribution to the streetscape.” So why was the tree taken off the Significant Tree List?
#73 26 Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell
To my eye, this Peppercorn is the tallest of those listed, and possibly the grand-daddy of them all. It stands square in the front garden of the property. I offer two snapshots: one from across Prospect Hill Road that gives an idea of the towering height, and one through the corner front gate of the property that shows the garden setting and the massive trunk. I remember, some years ago, that the canopy of this beauty was looking a bit sparse, but currently it looks fine. The August 2000 arborist’s report is not so sanguine, however: “Assessment by a qualified arborist to determine the stability of limbs, and removal of branch stubs and diseased limbs, as required. Following the initial assessment, tree should be monitored on a one-to-two-year basis, carrying out works as required.” There’s no updating to indicate whether this has occurred. The tree was estimated (in 2000) to be more than 100 years old,
#107 1/258 Wiltshire Drive, Kew
The address sounds innocuous enough, but it is within Willsmere, the former Kew Lunatic Asylum. The institution was closed in 1988, after operating for 117 years. The development of new drugs and new treatments, and evolving attitudes towards mental illness, led to the rationalisation of Statewide mental health facilities and a degree of “opening the gates”. The Willsmere buildings were deemed surplus, and subsequently sold by the State and redeveloped into a prestigious complex of some 155 apartments and 101 townhouses within a gated community. One wonders whether the irony of having returned to maximum security is lost on the inhabitants. Behind the security fence, in Wiltshire Drive, stands this enormous Peppercorn. Although the tree has “rot around the base” and “the upper canopy is quite sparse” there were “no immediate risks evident at the time of inspection” in 2000, when it “appeared sound”.
As it happens the Manager/Caretaker was patrolling the grounds as we arrived; but he was unequivocally unable to let us into the garden to photograph the tree. A little persuasion was needed, perhaps, so I telephoned the city-based property agents…..and was advised to submit a request in writing, and that my request would be considered at the next meeting of the management committee. My apoplexy slowly receded; and subsided totally when I found the below photograph on the website of the very same Willsmere. The tree is a serious contender for king of the Boroondara Peppercorns.
#342 368 Auburn Road, Hawthorn
The heart sank as we pulled up in front of this address. Whatever had passed for a family home had been replaced by a site-covering complex of residential units, with a blunt two-storey façade on to Auburn Road, incorporating the entrance to an underground carpark. But drifting down the driveway of the next-door home units we saw the tree. Well, it’s pretty hard to see, actually, but it’s there, right at the rear of the property. It is impressive. The later Significant Tree registrations (this one from November 2018) are less detailed than the earlier ones – although we are helpfully (!) provided with latitude and longitude bearings. The arborist’s description: “A very old specimen with an upright habit, this tree has attractive spreading branches and is visited seasonally by native bees.” The photograph of the trunk is from the Significant Trees document.
#418 1/22 Power Street, Balwyn
The arborist’s only comment: “A very old specimen with an immensely thick and gnarled trunk.” And, by the way, the “Tree is lifting footpath.” No, it’s not – the footpath has long since been repaired.
#431 2 Kembla Street, Hawthorn
Not accessible at all, so the skyline photograph will have to suffice – complete with the adjacent portaloo. The reviewing arborist was clearly under the same constraint: “Assessed from the street, parameters and structure estimated”. Understandably, the conclusion is brief: “This is a large tree in an urban context in good condition.” Significant because of its outstanding size.
#451 28 Belmont Avenue, Kew
When I pulled up across from the two-storey Victorian mansion at number 24 Belmont Avenue I noted the significant Peppercorn tree. The front garden has a generous assortment of mature trees and the Peppercorn is somewhat overcrowded – so the snapshots won’t give a clear picture, I thought. But the snapshot on the Boroondara listing is entirely different – a larger specimen, located not in a front garden but in the rear corner of the block…and numbered 28, not 24. So, a return visit to confirm my error; not to secure a photograph, however – the view at number 28 is quite blocked, with only the top tip visible from the street. The below photograph is from the Significant Trees listing. From the accompanying description: “This is a large tree with massive limbs that span three properties. It has long gnarled branches, which indicates its old age.”
Finally, for completeness, here is an image of the tree that started my Schinus molle obsession, the best I can manage from my former family home at 123 Prospect Hill Road, Canterbury. I still maintain that it is worthy of inclusion on the List.
And why doesn’t the List include this beauty modestly standing outside the Willsmere gated community?
Gary Andrews
No comments:
Post a Comment