Name/TitleAboriginal, Wiradjuri, carved tree (also known as a dendroglyph or arborglyph)
About this objectThis carved tree section is the sole survivor of at least three known Wiradjuri carved trees in the vicinity of the property Corroboree, the others having been destroyed by fire over time. To avoid a similar fate, this remaining tree was removed from the paddock and stored for safekeeping and until being given to the Orange and District Historical Society by the property owner at the time, Bruce MacSmith, in April 1970.
Carved trees were once well known around central NSW but due to their vulnerability there are fewer than twenty examples surviving in the central west. This carved tree is historically and culturally significant as a rare surviving example of the traditional Wiradjuri custom of carving living trees for the burial of celebrated men. It also demonstrates the designs and techniques used in that custom.
Anne Vincent, Phil Stevenson 2008
Updated Hayley Lavers 2019