The southern live oak tree at Geham State School
Toowoomba is a city of trees. Our climate, soils and
long horticultural history have encouraged over three hundred and seventy
species of trees to flourish across our city, and trees are the main factor
that makes our city a cool, shady and beautiful place to live. Many of these
lovely and interesting trees also grow in our regional towns and areas, and one
of the more unusual of these is the southern live oak tree that grows in the
grounds of Geham State School, about twenty kilometres north of the city.
There are about four hundred species of oak trees,
nearly all native to the northern hemisphere (North America, Europe and Asia)
although a few also occur in the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Southern live
oaks grow across the southern states of America from Florida to Texas, usually
fairly close to the coast. They grow in a wide variety of soils and moisture
regimes, and there are fine old trees in many of the coastal towns and cities.
The tree at Geham is reputed to have been brought back
from America to Queensland as an acorn by Duncan Munro in 1903, a local
sawmillers who built the nearby Argyle homestead and planted its trees and
gardens. Geham School was opened in 1871
(as Highfields No. 2 School), with 47 pupils, for the children of the local sawmillers and community.
Most of the species of oak trees from cooler climates
are deciduous, losing their leaves in autumn of each year and re-growing a new
canopy in spring. Many of the oaks from warmer climates, however, are evergreen
and retain their canopy throughout the year, and these are often called the
live oaks. The tree at Geham is one of these.
The leaves of southern live oak trees are quite small:
4-10 cm long and 2-4cm wide, dark green above and whitish below, rather
leathery, and oval with smooth edges. Acorns are produced in late summer and
autumn in smooth acorn cups, and are small, pointed and dark brown to black
when ripe. The tree at Geham is a
handsome flattened cylindrical shape about fifteen metres high and nearly
thirty metres across, providing a large shady area under which the primary
school pupils can play and eat. It is much loved and appreciated by the local
community.
J T Swarbrick
OAK TREE HERITAGE LISTING
Recently the Advocacy Committee of the National Trust of Australia (Queensland) endorsed the nomination of the Southern Live Oak tree at Geham State School to the Trust’s Heritage Register due to its significance.
The tree is of horticultural value as it is the only known example in the Toowoomba Region. It is outstanding for its size and an outstanding example of its species. The tree is associated with Duncan Munro, a local saw miller and builder of Argyle House which is nearby. The tree was planted on the occasion when local men left to fight in the Boer War. The tree is an important shade tree for the school community. It is an attractive tree with high local heritage and landscape significance and one of the oldest exotic ornamental trees in the region. As for form and shape, it is almost a perfect representation of an oak.