Scarred tree

A scarred tree or scar tree, is a tree which has had bark removed by Aboriginal Australians. These are also called canoe trees and shield trees. The bark was used to make things including canoes, shelters, weapons such as shields, tools, traps, containers (such as coolamons), or other artefacts. Carved trees were also used by Aboriginal peoples, to mark important places, such as burial sites.

Bark was removed by making deep cuts in a tree with a tool such as a stone axe. Scars can still be seen in trees that are often over 200 years old. Sometimes the axe cuts are still visible.^[1] Usually the marks will be hidden because the bark has grown back. The amount of bark regrowth may help you tell the age of the scar. Sometimes, if the scar is very old, it will be completely covered by regrowth.

Aboriginal people removed bark from trees to make things like canoes, axes, tools, containers and shields, as well as to build temporary shelters. Sometimes they cut small grooves, a toe hold, to make it easier to climb a tree.^[1] They wrapped meat or seafood in layers of wet paperbark (the bark from a melaleuca) and cooked it on the hot coals of a fire.^[2]

Bark canoes were mainly used for fishing or crossing rivers or lakes. They were usually propelled by punting with a long stick.^[3]

Aboriginal people made different types of bark canoes. These canoes were made from the bark of certain trees like red gum, stringybark, swamp mahogany, and river box. They made them in the summer.

The bark canoes were made from one big piece of bark. The bark was softened by fire, then tied at both ends to form a canoe shape. Sticks were used to keep the canoe open. They used resin from the grass tree (called Xanthorrhoea) to make the bottom waterproof and to fix any holes. This type of bark canoe is called a Nawi. People kept a small fire burning inside the canoe on wet clay or seaweed. This fire kept them warm in winter and helped them cook the fish they caught.^[4]

Another type of bark canoe is called Yuki. For this, the bark was cut from the tree in the shape of a canoe. Sticks were placed around the edges to hold it up, and stones and wood logs were put in the middle to weigh it down. A fire was made inside and under the bark to heat the sap, making the bark soft and bendable. Then it was left to dry in the shape of a canoe.^[5]

Sometimes, strips of bark were sewn together to make bigger canoes. These were called Gumung derrka and Na-riyarrku, or sewn bark canoes.^[6]

Non-Indigenous Australians called the trees with bark taken from them scarred trees, scar trees, canoe trees,^[7] or shield trees.^[8]

In the 1600s, dugout canoes started to be used along the northern coast of Australia. These dugout canoes were added to the bark canoes and changed how the Aboriginal people hunted and lived in that area.

Carved trees are found all over Australia in different styles. The most famous carved trees are in New South Wales, made by the Gamilaroi and Wiradjuri peoples. These trees were carved to show important places for ceremonies, like initiation or burial sites. These carved trees are also called arborglyphs, dendroglyphs, or teleteglyphs.^[9]

In Western Australia, people also carved trees near burial sites in the southwest. Around the Harvey River, trees have notches and red-painted figures. In Perth and the southwest, circles and other designs were carved. Near Esperance, tribes cut notches on two trees for each grave: an even number of notches for a man and an odd number for a woman.^[10] In the northwest, trees were carved with pictures of emus and kangaroos, but most carvings were of snakes. Some snakes were carved to look like they were moving along the tree, while others were coiled up.^[11] In Queensland, carved trees show animals and humans, like snakes, lizards, and people.^[12]

Many carved trees have been lost because of land clearing, fires, farming, and natural decay.^[13] In the 1800s, some carved trees from New South Wales were taken to museums. Now, people want to bring these trees back to their original places and start carving trees again.^[9]

In inland northern New South Wales and nearby Queensland, about 1,000 special trees have been found. These trees were changed by local Indigenous people in different ways. Some trees have other trees growing inside them ("trees-in-trees"). Some trees were shaped into rings or arrows. Others were cut to make bowls to hold water. A group of people, including scientists and both Indigenous and non-Indigenous locals, are working together to learn more about these special trees. They want to make sure these trees are recognized and protected by science and law. ^[14]

Left: Aboriginal men making bark shields, c. 1905. Right: Bark shield painted with bright colors, c. 1905.

Shields were made from bark or wood and often had carved or painted designs. Aboriginal warriors used shields mainly to protect themselves in fights, usually over things like land. A shield that never lost a fight was believed to be very powerful and was highly valued. Shields were also used in many ceremonies.^[15]

There are two main types of Aboriginal shields: broad shields and parrying shields. Parrying shields are used to block hits from clubs, while broad shields are used to stop spears. Parrying shields are thick, strong, and narrow. Broad shields are wide but thin. Different areas used different materials to make shields, like buttress root, mulga wood, and bark. A handle was attached or carved on the back. Shields were often painted with red and white patterns.

Arragong and Tawarrang shields were made from wood, sometimes with a bark layer on the outside. Tawarrang shields were long and narrow with patterns carved on the sides. These shields could also be used as musical instruments when hit with a club, as well as for fighting.^[16][17]

Scarred trees are found among older native trees, especially box gum and red gum trees, along rivers and lakes and at sacred sites. They are protected by law.^[9]

Canoe trees have been photographed along the Murray River at Waikerie and Kroehns Landing at Nildottie in South Australia, and on the Murrumbidgee River near Hay, New South Wales.^[18] RMIT has six scarred trees on their campus at Bundoora, Victoria. They have developed a self-guided walking tour. Information can be found on their website.^[19]

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  Canoe scarring on a tree at Waikerie on the River Murray
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  Wiradjuri carved tree, Grave of Yuranigh. c. 1850
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  Canoe scarring, Victoria
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  Scar tree stump protected by shelter, Newell Highway, south of Dubbo
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  Carved tree created in 2012