In the Bottle

Sep2

Western Queensland Road Trip #2 Roma

In western Queensland, the landscape is punctuated by native trees with a distinctive shape. Brachychiton rupestris, commonly known as the Queensland bottle tree, has a bottle shaped trunk designed to store water in the dry climate.

A very unusual specimen has been planted in the garden at the Miles Historical Village.

Further west in Roma, the more typical type of bottle tree is celebrated.

With more than 100 years’ growth, the largest bottle tree in the Roma district has a circumference of 9.51 metres and a canopy spreading more than 20 metres across.

More bottle trees line many of Roma’s wide streets. In 1918, 140 trees were planted by local families in remembrance of their loved ones – soldiers lost on the battlefields of World War One.

All along the heritage listed avenue, plaques beside the trees acknowledge the service of each soldier.

These trees hold precious memories as well as water!

 

51 thoughts on “In the Bottle”

  3. The trees are very unusual, I saw one in the Sydney Botanical Gardens. This type of memorial appears to be quite an Australian thing, the longest avenue I believe is in Ballarat to represent all those serving in the war.

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  11. Is the bottle tree the same as the Boabs? I love all the Boabs in the top end, but didnā€™t realise there were similar trees in that part of the country. The older ones have so much character.

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  12. Planting these trees is a wonderful idea on several levels, not only for remembrance but also to continue planting trees to replace others that have been cleared. I like the idea of using bottle trees.
    We saw the Remembrance Drive in Ballarat during our recent trip to Victoria.

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  13. Very interesting post because the only bottle tree I’ve heard of was the one made with metal and bottles in the first photo. That one, I have. I googled to read more about the tree so I thank you for that learning moment. Not only is this an interesting specimen, but the history and sacrifice behind these particular ones are humbling. Thank you for sharing.

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  16. What a memorable way to honour those lost soldiers, the avenue is a fantastic idea and must be so interesting to visit. Seen a couple of avenues like this in Germany which were very poignant and thought-provoking too.

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  17. Love love the repurposing of bottles here! I have seen them incorporated into mud houses and I think that the more we reuse and repurpose both plastic, glass and all waste, the better off the planet will be. It is of course a “mindset” that we all need to wake up to. Terrfici post.

    Peta

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