Hi all,
Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson, (1864-1941) was a bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas,
As a boy he spent school holidays on his father’s rural property near Yass, there he developed a love for the outdoors. At 16 he entered Sydney University studying law, after graduating he practiced in Sydney.
He began contributing narrative-type verse to the Bulletin in Sydney. He became a leading exponent of the “bush ballad,” writing about horsemen, drovers, shearers etc, with an emphasis on mateship.
His works evoked the feeling of the campfire and the open land, he established himself as the most popular of the Australian authors. In nearly all of his writings he laced his verse with humour and irony, his characters possessed a vitality and an optimistic approach to life.
In 1895 he released a book of ballads, “The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses” which achieved immediate success. Later that same year he visited Winton (in western Queensland) where he wrote the ballad “Waltzing Matilda” (to an old English tune) which has become in a way, Australia’s unofficial national anthem.
The poem, The Man From Snowy River, was turned into a movie in 1981 which was set in Victoria’s spectacular high country. Craig’s Hut was built for that movie as the house of Jim Craig (played by Tom Burlinson). Jim was based on who most think was the original Man From Snowy River, Jack Riley.
The hut is now located in Victoria’s Alpine National Park, high on the slopes of Mt Stirling. It has been rebuilt a couple of times, first in 1993 after years of neglect in the harsh alpine weather, and then again in 2007 after being burnt down in a bushfire. The original hut had a shingle roof, it is now tin which is more practical being in a bushfire prone area.
I have included a short (5 min long) youtube clip, it was produced as a trailer to the main movie, every time I view it, it sends shivers down my spine and the hairs on my arm stand up. (If you haven’t got hairy arms, that’s ok!)https://youtu.be/jo51fIu_fjk
The high country (which I love so much), is shown in all its grandeur in the clip, the sound track adds a whole other dimension to it. Check it out, it is stunning. (Best viewed on a large screen if possible).
After visiting the “Hut” you can take the track (a bit rugged!) further up the mountain towards the summit of Mt Stirling. There you have 360 degree views which are truly spectacular, however the one thing that I wanted to show you in this post, is a very old (even historic) lone tree that sits a short distance from the mountains top.
The Mt Stirling Summit Tree is unique, it is the only tree on the mountain’s 23 hectare grassy summit, sitting well above the tree line and well above the snow line. It is remarkable for a few other things as well, its large size, (the circumference at the base of the tree is more than 3 metres) the altitude at which it grows (1725 metres) and it’s great age.
It was growing long before Europeans landed on our mainland over 400 years ago. Nobody knows for sure just how old it is, but when a 40 centimetre diameter branch broke off after the 2006/7 bush fires, that branch was dated at around 485 years old!!
There are no other trees above 1700 metres on Mt Stirling, maybe a few shrubs but those that survive are quite small, stunted by the cold and harsh weather conditions. By contrast, the Summit Tree is large and extremely hardy. In winter it can be completely buried in snow, the only sign of its presence being a snowy mound, in summer it thrives and often flowers.
This ancient Snow Gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) has been recognised by the National Trusts, Australia’s Register of Significant Trees. When the Victorian National Parks Association made their application for the trees recognition and protection, they produced a short 3 min video to help extoll the trees significant virtues. I found the sound track to be quite evocative. Again it is so worth viewing.
Hope you enjoyed,
Regards, Col.
The gnarly shapes and colours of the Summit Trees trunks are just so beautiful.
You can see from this pic that the predominant winds go from left to right.
When I was last there it was late summer, with some wildflowers still in bloom. In that last pic the orange flower is an Alpine Everlasting and here, not far from the tree, was this Mountain Brachycome.
Nelle's journey 