The Gloucester Tree is a giant karri (''

Eucalyptus diversicolor ''Eucalyptus diversicolor'', commonly known as karri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall tree with smooth light grey to cream-coloured, often mottled bar ...

'') tree located in the Gloucester National Park of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The tree is tall, and a major tourist attraction to the town of Pemberton. It is part of a group of karri tree towers open to the public, the other two being the

Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree The Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree, a tall karri tree, was pegged for climbing to celebrate Australia's bicentenary in 1988. It is in Warren National Park in southwestern Australia. Although it has been used as a fire lookout, it is used mainl ...

and the

Diamond Tree The Diamond Tree is a giant karri tree located 10 km south of Manjimup, Western Australia on the South Western Highway. A wooden viewing platform built in 1939 is located 49 metres up, and was the oldest wooden platform fire look-out in u ...

. It is the world's second tallest fire- lookout tree, second only to the Bicentennial Tree. It was named after

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was a member of the British royal family. He was the third son of King George V and Mary of Teck, Queen Mary, and was a younger brother of kings E ...

History

As a fire-lookout tree

In 1947, the Gloucester Tree was selected by foresters as a fire-lookout tree. It was one of eight lookout trees built in Western Australia's

South West Southwest is a compass point. Southwest, south-west, south west, southwestern or south-western or south western may also refer to: * Southwest (direction), an intercardinal direction Geography *South West Queensland, Australia *South West (Weste ...

between 1937 and 1952. The suitability of the tree as a fire lookout was tested by forester Jack Watson, who climbed the tree using climbing boots and a belt. It took Watson six hours to climb , a difficult climb due to the girth of the tree and the need to negotiate through limbs from up. Jack Watson, a

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

veteran, was also Superintendent of Kings Park in Perth, and retired from that position in 1962. Another forester, George Reynolds, pegged the ladder and lopped branches to facilitate climbing the tree, and a wooden lookout cabin was built above the ground. The Governor-General of Australia, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, visited the site and watched the pegging of the tree's ladder and the lopping of branches for the lookout. Prince Henry also participated by using a

wood auger An auger is a device to drill wood or other materials, consisting of a rotating metal shaft with a blade at the end that scrapes or cuts the wood. Types The classical design has a helical screw blade winding around the bottom end of the sha ...

to bore holes in the tree for the climbing pegs. The tree and national park are named in his honour. Gloucester_Tree_Warningsign

The wooden lookout cabin was demolished in 1973 for safety reasons, and was replaced with a steel and aluminium cabin and visitors' gallery. The climb was done by stepping on 153 spikes that spiral the tree.

Closure

In 2023, maintenance work on the Gloucester Tree was carried out to improve the tree's safety. The work included repegging so the public could climb up to , although the tree remains closed due to work being needed on the tree's top and upper platform. Along with the Bicentennial Tree, it has been closed since November 2023. However, the area around the tree is still open to the public. The possibility of a permanent end to climbing the tree has not been ruled out by the

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Government of Western Australia, Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the ''Conservation and Land Management A ...

, but regional manager Tim Foley has said that it was something they were not keen to see. This was opposed by Louise Kingston, the Nationals MP for the South West Region, who called it "unacceptable" for the trees to be closed ahead of the summer tourist season. According to the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

(ABC), there were fears among business owners that tourists would skip or spend less time in Pemberton due to the tree's closure.

Structure and dimensions

Before its closure, visitors could climb up to its lookout. Those who climbed up were provided with no harnesses, which the ABC described as being "unique in a modern, safety-first era". When it was open, only 20 percent of visitors made the full climb to the top of the tree; most made it only part of the way before turning back.

Gallery

File:Pemberton Gloucester Tree Base.jpg, Base of the tree File:OIC pemberton gloucester tree climbers.jpg, Tree being climbed File:OIC pemberton gloucester tree.jpg, View of the ladder File:Gloucester tree 2024.jpg, In the centre from a distance

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline
Gloucester National Park
– Department of Environment and Conservation Pemberton, Western Australia Individual eucalypts Forests of Western Australia Fire lookout towers in Australia Lookout trees Individual trees in Western Australia