Aboriginalpeoplein canoeson LakeTyers1886

What areScarredTrees?Aboriginalpeoplecausedscarsontreesbyremovingbarkfor

variouspurposes.Thescars,which

varyinsize,exposethesapwoodonthetrunkorbranchofatree.

WhereareScarredTreesFound?

ScarredtreesarefoundalloverVictoria,wherevertherearematurenativetrees,especiallyboxandredgum.Theyoftenoccuralongmajorrivers,aroundlakesandonfloodplains.

WhattoDoifYouFindaScarredTree

•Checkthescarforkeycharacteristics.

•Recordthetree’slocationanditscondition.

•Notewhetheritisunderthreatofdisturbance.

PleasehelptopreserveAboriginalculturalplacesbyreporting their presence tothe Office of Aboriginal Affairs Victoria.

Contact:

TheHeritageRegistrar

Office of AboriginalAffairs Victoria

POBox2392Melbourne

VIC3001

Telephone:1800762003

WhyDidAboriginalPeopleRemoveBark?

Aboriginalpeopleremoved

barkfromtreestomakecanoes,containersandshieldsandtobuildtemporaryshelters.

Theyalsocuttoeholdsintreestomakethemeasiertoclimb.Thisallowedthemtousetreesaslookouts,huntforpossumsorbeehives,andcutbarkhigherupinthe

tree.Sometimestreeswerecarvedordecorated,butexamplesarerareinVictoria.

Toremovebark,theAboriginalpeoplecutanoutlineoftheshapetheywantedusingstoneaxesor,onceEuropeanshadarrived,steelaxes.Thebarkwasthenleveredoff.SometimestheaxemarksmadebyAboriginalpeoplearestillvisibleonthesapwoodofthetree,butusuallythemarkswillbehiddenbecausethebarkhasgrownback.Theamountofbarkregrowthmayhelpyoutelltheageofthescar.Sometimes,ifthescarisveryold,itwillbecompletelycoveredbyregrowth.

WhatOtherHumanActivitiesCanCauseScars?

Europeansettlersalsoremovedbarkfromtreestobuildhuts.Generally,thesescarswillbemoresquare

orrectangularinshapethanthosecreatedbyAboriginalpeople.

BoundaryorsurveymarkersmadebyEuropeansettlersandfarmersalsocausedscars.Surveymarkersareusuallytriangularandmayhaveanumberordatecarvedorwrittenonthesapwood.

Treesclosetoroadsmaybedamagedbypassingvehicles.Scarscausedinthiswaywillusuallyonlyoccurbelowaheightofabouttwometres.

WhatNatural ProcessesCanCauseScars?

Fire,lightning,stormsandfloodscanalsocausescarsontrees.

Firedamageisdistinctive:thescarisusuallytriangular,wideatthebaseandtaperingupfromtheground,andthewoodischarred.Ascarcausedbyafallingbranchoftenlookslikea‘keyhole’,withthestubofthebranchatthetopandatailoftornsapwoodbeneath.

Scarscausedbyfallingtrees cansometimesbeidentifiedbyexaminingnearbytreestumps.

Thesewillusuallygivesomeidea

ofthedirectioninwhichthetreefell.Ifthatdirectionmatchesthepositionofthescar,thescarmaybenatural.

WhyareScarredTreesImportant?

ScarredtreesprovidevaluablecluesabouttheuseofperishablematerialsbyAboriginalpeople.Because

woodoftenrotsaway,VictorianmuseumshaveonlyasmallnumberofAboriginalwoodenartefacts.MostofourinformationonAboriginaluseofwoodcomesfromthewritingsofearlysettlersandexplorers.

Scarredtreesareeasiertofindthanmanyotherarchaeologicalsites.

TheytelluswhereAboriginalpeopleusedtolive,andhelpusfindothertypesofarchaeologicalsites,suchasscattersofstonetools.ScarredtreesalsoprovideAboriginalpeopletodaywithanimportantlinktotheircultureandtheirpast.

ThreatstoScarredTreesScarredtreesaredisappearingbecauseofnaturalagingand

decay,timbercutting,environmental

problemssuchassalinityandfire.The Office of AboriginalAffairsVictoriarecordsscarredtreessothatwewillhaveapermanentphotographicandwrittenrecordofthisimportant

partoftheheritageofallAustralians.Somescarredtreesrequireattention,sotheywillbepreservedforfuturegenerations.

AreScarredTreesProtected?

AllAboriginalculturalplaces

inVictoriaareprotectedbylaw.Aboriginalartefactsarealsoprotected.

ItisagainstthelawtodisturbordestroyanAboriginalplace.Artefactsshouldnotberemovedfromsites.

ScarIdentificationCharacteristics

June2008

CopyrightStateGovernmentofVictoria2008.AuthorisedbytheVictoriaGovernment,Melbourne

ISBN978-1-921331-52-7

ThispublicationmaybeofassistancetoyoubuttheStateofVictoriaanditsemployeesdonotguaranteethatthepublicationiswithoutflawofanykindoriswhollyappropriateforyourparticularpurposesandthereforedisclaimsallliabilityforanyerror,lossorotherconsequencewhichmayarisefromyourelyingonanyinformationinthispublication.