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Northern Territory Government
The destruction of two iconic Ghost Gums painted by Albert Namatjira has saddened many Territorians, Minister for Indigenous Advancement, Alison Anderson, said today.
SYDNEY -- A pair of "ghost gum" trees in Australia's outback made famous in watercolors by Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira have been destroyed in a suspected arson attack, shortly before they were due to be placed on a national heritage register.
Namatjira is credited with bringing ghost gums, native trees featured in Aboriginal Dreamtime stories and named for their white bark that glows in moonlight, to wider public consciousness as a symbol of Australian identity.
Northern Territory Indigenous Advancement Minister Alison Anderson said the pair of ghost gums that frame the West MacDonnell Ranges and feature in many of the late Namatjira's works were found burned to the ground a few days ago.
"In his watercolors (Namatjira) brought the beauty of the Central Australian landscape to the world and helped make it a symbol of Australian identity," Anderson said.
Authorities believe the fire was likely deliberately lit.
Susan McCulloch, author of McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper the destruction of the ghost gums was "appalling and a tragic act of cultural vandalism."
Born in the Northern Territory in 1902, Namatjira held his first exhibition in 1938 and painted for the next two decades, earning international acclaim before his death in 1959.
Aboriginal Dreamtime stories have been passed down through generations to recount indigenous beliefs about the creation of the world and its creatures by totemic spirits in an era known as Dreamtime.
A pair of famous "ghost gum" trees in Australia's outback have been destroyed in a suspected arson attack. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
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sorry for the loss of the trees.also sorry you have immature jerks in your country...we have alot in the USA.
I hope they catch the SOB responsible for this. I simply can not understand why anyone would do something like this. Those trees were a national symbol to many Australians, what would motivate anyone to destroy them. The person responsible deserves some time in jail to think about what they have done.
So sad that there has to be such stupidity in the world. These trees represented a national treasure to the Aborigine and Australia as a whole. On the stupidity scale, this probably ranks up there with the Taliban destroying the cliffside statues when they were in power!
This kind of destruction is just senseless. Here in Central Florida we had someone burn down "The Senator" on Martin Luther King's Birthday. At 3500 years, the Senator was the oldest and largest Cypress tree in the US. That arsonist was caught. I hope they catch this one as well. Still the damage is done, another living symbol of heritage and history lost forever.
Apparently this was not the first ghost gum to be killed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Knowledge_(Australia)
This was probably done by some plonker that runs over the goannas for fun. Here is hoping that the next tree that they mess with falls on them and kills them: now that would be karma.
Such karma does happen. On 2 February, 1982, a vandal was crushed to death when a century-old 26-foot tall saguaro cactus fell on him. The vandal had been repeatedly shooting the cactus with a shotgun for fun in the Arizona desert. The vandal's demise was chronicled in the Austin Lounge Lizards' song, "Saguaro".
Wish the story would have said what the punishment could be for the scum who did this. Sounds like they knew that these weren't just some ordinary trees so I hope they are caught and the punishment is extremely harsh!
I would say strung up by their heels naked from the nearest gum tree, but that would just de defiling the tree!
Allie,
You may be interested in this recent court case in Victoria, Australia, pertaining to the Black Saturday Bushfires in 2009. This extract is from Australia's ABC news
A former Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer has been sentenced to 17 years and nine months in jail for killing 10 people by deliberately lighting a bushfire on Black Saturday.
Brendan Sokaluk, 42, was found guilty of 10 counts of arson causing death in the Victorian Supreme Court for deliberately lighting the Churchill fire on February 7, 2009. He will serve a non-parole period of 14 years.
The obnoxious piece of dog meat known as Sokaluk wantonly killed 10 iinocent people, and will serve only one and a half years in jail for each death.
Sir Vival, thanks for the info. Wow! What an unbelievably weak sentence for Sokaluk. I'm so sorry for the survivors, how could they possibly feel that justice was done? Looks like this case could end up being nothing but a slap on the wrist, then, considering their apparently pathetic justice system. How very sad.
Very sad that someone would do such a thing... :(
The Ancestors always see what we are doing. We have to live with dignity and purpose.
What Max said. Ditto.
I agree with you, Max^108. Very sad indeed. I hope they catch the perp(s). A fine, some jail time AND community service. It sounds like some juveniles did it.
A great loss.
What possible reason to do such a thing.
It will be interesting to hear the pyro's version.
Crazy people always have their reasons for tree violence...check out the Alabama fan who poisoned the Oak trees at Toomer's Corner at Auburn University.
Good evening chef! Happy New Year!
And a very Happy New Year to you, Ed. ☺
It's sad, these trees were not only historical, but they had meaning to the Aborigines and were a renowned symbol of the Australian Outback. What a cruel, thoughtless thing to do to a living plant, and the wildlife that resided in those trees.
The lesson on Pandora (Avatar) has not been learned or embraced by SO many. How many more trees on earth will die due to negligence, global warming (drought, insects, disease, extreme temperatures), tropical rainforest destruction and deliberate actions by souls of darkness?
Tree withers, no big deal.
It is certainly a big deal to the Aborigines and the Australians, but with a comment like that it seems you have little or no regard for cultural beliefs of others!
Your ignorance is amazing.
If the waterpaint is destroyed, it is then a big deal.
The aborigines can always find another tree to paint.
The paintings were considered a part of said trees and had become associated with them. Finding "another tree" would not have been a sutable alternative. Thanks for proving my point though!
What do you know! There are ignorant rednecks everywhere. Even where Henrich lives.
What kind of @$$hole would do such a thing???
Obviously the type of people with no class or respect for culture. In other words, Henrich's kind of people!
HVD respects the culture of others and would feel bad if the aborigine's water paint was destroyed but not the tree.
"Mona Lisa"was famous for the painting itself, not the girl. Same logic.
Only idiot without careful thought would call other "redneck"
I'll be sure to remind you of that statement next time we are discussing a certain country in the Middle East that whose culture we both know you love and respect so much!
Really stupid at this time of year when Australia is in the height of Summer. An act like this could spark a bushfire, in Australia they are bushfires NOT wildfires, because the vegetation is tinder dry. Even more so when a lot of the major cities experienced temperatures were 40+degrees C ( 104+degreesF) yesterday and we had major fires burning in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia. Nobody wants a repeat of 2009's " Black Saturday" or 1983's " Ash Wednesday", if you are unaware of these events look them up "Google" or another search engine. They resulted in property and lives being lost. Most Aussies have little time fo @$$holes who start fires.
Attacking their culture is attacking the people
Exactly, we have too many trees and wildlife on our planet really, something has to be done about it. This most intellectual person just gave us an excellent example of what we could do on our own to save the Earth from this growing infection, called nature. The globalization, global warming and the industry is already helping us, but that's not enough of course. We must get rid of all that is growing or green, for our own good, once and for all, think about our future!
/sarcasm
What a poorly done story!
The whole point was that the trees were once notable in an art work and the reporter or producer never showed the art work! Yea they did at the end of the piece, but in a close up that would not alow anyone to appreciate the art that represented the burned up trees. So, to me I just saw some fire wood.