Lea Tree Explained

The Lea Tree is a 2500 year old Huon pine growing on the Lower Gordon River in Tasmania. It was vandalised in 1983. However, it is still alive and growing.^[1]

Vandalism

On 5 July 1983, the tree, 9 feet (3 metres) in diameter, was chainsawed, then oil was poured into holes made by the perpetrators and set alight. The fire burnt for 24 hours.^[2]

Motives

The tree is thought to have been vandalised by people who supported the Franklin River Dam project, as the tree had become something of a symbol to the conservationist groups who opposed the dam.^[3] On 1 July, four days prior to the vandalism, a High Court Ruling ended the project.^[4] There is one theory that it was a publicity stunt by conservationists.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Franklin Review – A Reminder That People Are Not Powerless to Stand Up to Environmental Destruction – The Curb. 5 September 2022. www.thecurb.com.au. 3 October 2023. 11 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230811050855/https://www.thecurb.com.au/franklin-review-a-reminder-that-people-are-not-powerless-to-stand-up-to-environmental-destruction/. live.
2. Book: Grabosky, Peter N.. Wayward governance : illegality and its control in the public sector. Australian Institute of Criminology. 1989. 0-642-14605-5. 255–263. Chapter 17: Vandalism of the Lea Tree. https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/previous%20series/lcj/1-20/wayward/ch17.html. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130411013808/https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/previous%20series/lcj/1-20/wayward/ch17.html. 11 April 2013.
3. Web site: Wilderness Journal #020. Wilderness Society. 3 October 2023. 10 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230810231847/https://www.wilderness.org.au/journal/issue-020. live.
4. Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 46 ALR 625 at 733 and 734.