The Bum Tree Blackbutt

This tree was considered to be one of the largest surviving native trees on this section of the Illawarra coastal plain (personal communication: Ms Valda Corrigan, NPWS, to Kelvin Officer 14 March 2014). A study by Berry Landcare, using both radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology concluded that the Bum Tree probably germinated sometime between 1626 and 1680 CE (Common Era), that is, between 334 and 388 years before it was felled in 2014 (‘The Bum Tree, Berry NSW. A salvaged legacy’ by Kelvin Officer with a specialist report by Matthew Brookhouse, April 2020, A report by Berry Landcare).

The section of the trunk with the ‘bum’ feature was salvaged by the Shoalhaven City Council and has been placed just inside the gates of the Shoalhaven Heads pool complex. Two samples of the trunk are each displayed and curated at the Berry Museum, and the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, Building 43, University of Wollongong.

The Bum Tree was a local landmark and district icon, which was known and loved by generations of users of the Crooked River and Gerroa Roads, a route known locally as ‘The Sand Track’. The tree was famous, for two reasons. Firstly, it was beautiful mature Blackbutt tree, and the largest evident along the road. Secondly, the tree became notorious for a large burl near the base of its trunk which resembled a large pair of buttocks. The burl was periodically enhanced, by persons unknown, with painted lines and the word ‘BUM’ to ensure that those less imaginative, could share the joke. A number of oral traditions circulated regarding the origin of the burl, including a car collision when the road was a simple sand track.

In March of 2014, the tree was removed by the Shoalhaven City Council as part of vegetation clearing works along the road verge. The removal of the tree became a focus of local protest and debate. This issue and its media coverage increased awareness of the issues surrounding the management of native road side vegetation.

The Bum Tree was considered to have high ecological value due to its mature age, the presence of hollows (habitat value), and location with an area of recorded Greater glider activity, and potential Yellow bellied glider habitat.

The Bum Tree had aesthetic value as a large, stand-out, mature Blackbutt tree, with a high spreading canopy which enhanced the tree-lined and arching corridor which characterised the Crooked River and Gerroa Road corridor where adjacent to the Seven Mile Beach National Park.

The anatomical interpretation of the tree’s ‘bum’ by road users was also a highly valued part of this tree’s aesthetics. Close inspection of the tree rings revealed on the stump after felling, revealed that the tree originally had two main stems (or trunks) for approximately a quarter or a third of its life. The burl or ‘bum’ was created as a result of the tree growing across the scar left when one of these trunks broke away.

The Bum Tree became well known and loved as a local landmark and district icon to the local communities of Gerroa, Berry, Shoalhaven Heads and residents of the wider Shoalhaven region. The large mature tree with its distinctively shaped burl were clearly visible to generations of users of the Gerroa and Crooked River Roads. The burl was periodically highlighted with graffiti and the work ‘BUM’.

The Bum Tree was considered to be one of the largest surviving native trees on this section of the Illawarra coastal plains (personal communication: Ms Valda Corrigan, NPWS, to Kelvin Officer 14 March 2014). As such, the tree ring record and biological reference value of the curated samples of the trunk are considered to have local scientific and future research value. The three remaining salvaged portions of the tree are on public display and have considerable educational value, with considerable interpretive information provided at both the Berry Museum and the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong.

The salvaged samples of the Bum Tree are amongst a very small number of properly curated samples of local tree trunks, of known provenance, and scientifically determined age, which preserve a record of biological growth over an extended and known period of time. Such samples may have considerable scientific value in the future for climate, ecological and palaeo-environmental research.

The Bum Tree was a local landmark and district icon, known and loved by generations of users of the Crooked River and Gerroa roads for two reasons – it was beautiful and mature, and had a large burl resembling a large pair of buttocks on its trunk.

NSW Scientific Committee 10/06/16 Preliminary Determination Greater Gliders Seven Mile Beach.
Collection of variety of contemporary media reports.
Application for funding of dendrochronological analysis of bum tree sample May 2014

Berry Landcare Report on the dating and salvage of the Bum Tree 2020