Tree square challenge
Posted on by Debbie

The sad demise of Sugar Pine Walk #TreeSquare

Welcome to Day #9 of Tree Squares

Sugar Pine Walk

What was once an iconic area of a beautiful stand of trees, has since been destroyed and is no more.

Sugar Pine Walk was located in Laurel Hill NSW, near my home in Tumbarumba. Our town and nearby areas, were hit hard by the bushfires in late 2019 and early 2020 with nearly the whole town evacuated for weeks.

It was an awful loss, just one more in a dreadful time in our local area.

Jo mentioned these trees in her square post earlier in the week. And she knew I would also share some photos of the area in this month’s tree challenge.

Sugar Pine Walk near Tumbarumba NSW Australia
Sugar Pine Walk near Tumbarumba NSW Australia

I have written copious posts over the years and taken many photos of this once beautiful area. It has since been destroyed and nothing remains.

My daughter and son-in-law had their amazing wedding photos taken in this forest and we have great memories of taking all our visitors to Sugar Pine, seeing their faces light up in awe of the beauty around us. It really was a cathedral-like atmosphere.

These squares show just a part of the beauty we had on our doorstep.

A different sort of Autumn colours
Treehuggers in Sugar Pine Walk near Tumbarumba
Magic happens in Sugar Pine walk
Sugar Pine Walk near Tumbarumba
Sugar Pine walk, Laurel Hill near Tumbarumba
Sugar Pine walk in the snow with flip flops

This newspaper article tells of the dawn service that was held a year on from the fires – it really was the end of an era.

The comparison to a cathedral is quite a real thing to me, I just thought it was absolutely beautiful…

Local Cor Smit – Source

The significance of Sugar Pine Walk

Sugar Pine (Pinus lamertina) is native to the west coast of America and is the largest and tallest of all pine species. The site was planted in 1928 as a range of different exotic species were being trialed by the forestry industry.

The site is sentimental to both Forestry Corporation staff and the wider community for the pine trees’ size and stature. The close planting of this species trial and the way the trees have grown over time created a unique cathedral-like experience for visitors walking under the canopy.

Source – in this article there is an amazing aerial shot of the burnt trees and plans for ways of preserving the memory of this special place.

Becky’s Squares

Becky’s square theme for July is Trees – here’s a link to her post today – it’s a monthly challenge where Becky posts a square photo every day and invites us all to join in, either daily or spasmodically as the whim takes us! I’m posting spasmodically. There’s no pressure to join in every day 🙂

I really needed to share these trees with you, they brought such delight to everyone who saw them.

Deb 🙂

All my #TreeSquare posts can be found here

PS: A brief apology (#sorrynotsorry) to some readers who may get tired of my extra posts and my photos of trees – I’m enjoying myself and I hope you are entertained too.

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Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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14 Replies to “The sad demise of Sugar Pine Walk #TreeSquare”

  3. Such a sad story, Deb. The fires rage all summer. I’m amazed there are any trees left in the world when I read of the hundreds of thousands of acres destroyed. Prescott recently painted the number 19 under the P for Prescott painted on a hilltop. The 19 stands for the 19 Prescott firefighters who lost their lives fighting fires on July 2, 2013. The losses are never forgotten, either trees or people. In CA, we lost the entire town of Paradise, where my first husband had family.

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    1. I know it’s heartbreaking isn’t it Marsha? I often see your wild fires over there and feel for everyone who helps fight them and ultimately loses their lives. That’s a lovely idea for the Prescott families, how sad!

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