The Tree of Knowledge was a tree in Barcaldine, Queensland, Australia, the understory of which was regarded as the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). This was because the town was the headquarters of the 1891 Australian shearers' strike where policy and decisions were made.[1] It was a 200-year-old Corymbia aparrerinja ghost gum[2].
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In 1991, the tree was found to be suffering from dieback.[1] In an act of vandalism, the tree was poisoned with Glyphosate (a main ingredient in the herbicide RoundUp) in 2006. An arborist declared the tree dead on 3 October 2006. The ALP offered a reward of A$10,000 for any information that will help identify those responsible.
The remains of the tree were removed on 29 July 2007. According to a Queensland Government release[3] the tree is undergoing a process of wood preservation and the remains of the tree - 7 metres tall and 2 across - are being transferred to a special preservation facility. The tree was successfully cloned in 2008 by workers at the former Queensland Department of Primary Industries.[4]
Several cuttings propagated from the tree before its death are now growing in Barcaldine. A new timber box shaped memorial covering the original standing of the tree costing about A$5M was due to be officially opened on May Day (1 May) 2009. There are mixed views from locals and tourists as to the design and construction of the memorial.
It is said that in 1891 a group of protesting sheep shearers founded the Australian Labor Party under the tree. Meeting records of shearers striking for better conditions show they were held at the main strike camp at the edge of the town on Lagoon Creek.[1]. Non-union labour would arrive in the town by rail where they were met by the striking shearers. These impromptu meetings arose at a Cabbage Gum tree near the station where the strikers attempted to rally union members to their cause and block non-unionists.[1]
Bush battleground : Barcaldine 1891 / Peter and Sheila Forrest