Boab Prison Tree, Derby - Transfer & Transportation Guides

veteran tree in Western Australia

Boab Prison Tree Derby is a 1500 year old, large hollow Australian Baobab (Boab) trees 6 kilometers south of Derby, Western Australia with a circumference of 14.7 meters. It was said to have been used in the 1890s as a lock for the native Australian prisoners on their way to Derby for sentencing. There is no evidence that the Derby Prison Tree ever used to keep prisoners.Kristyn Harman and Elizabeth Grant tracked prison tree myth back to 1948. Around that time, a prominent artist Vlase Zanalis spent eight months camping in and around Derby. Zanalis was fascinated by the region's extraordinary boab trees. When one of his resulting work of art entitled 'The Boab Tree' later out of Sydney, described the Albany Advertiser tree have in its' early days' had its trunk 'used as a prison by the temporary nature until it was possible to transfer the prisoners to a more permanent dwelling '. In short history "of another Boab tree (available at the Wyndham) transferred to Derby tree. Over time, this myth has been so often repeated that it has coalesced into a 'fact' that are simply not supported by the available evidence. The tree is now a tourist attraction.In the nyulnyulanska language in western Kimberley boab tree is called 'larrgadiy' (alt. spelling larrgadi) and has great mythological significance. the old trees are often regarded as cherished individuals with unique personalities. The anthropologist Herbert Basedow was one of the first Europeans to document Derby Boab Tree. In his 1916 expedition to the Kimberley region, Basedow photographed trees, texting image as "the hollow trunk of a living baobab used by aborigines who hut and burial are Mayhall well, King Sound". Basedow (1918) wrote: "[T] native has long been the practice to utilize this lusus naturae [freak nature] as a dwelling; It's really a dry and comfortable hut "and found bleached human bones lying on the floor, suggesting the Aborigines had also used the tree to get rid of the dead. The location of human remains seen on the tree with foreign visitors as anthropologist Herbert Basedow is a mystery.In recent years, a fence was erected around the tree to protect it from too much human traffic, carving initials, etc., and compaction of the surrounding soil from vehicles. .... Learn more at Wikipedia

Name	Boab Prison Tree, Derby
Long Name	Boab Prison Tree, Derby, WA, Australia
Region	Western Australia
Country	Australia
Map	Open Map