The Poinciana, Delonix regia, is a native of Madagascar and was introduced to Brisbane in 1864 by
the first superintendent of the Botanic Gardens, Walter Hill.
Poincianas have become a symbol of Buderim
and this was the aim of the Buderim War Memorial Community Centre.
In an
article in the Courier Mail, July 24th 1948, the chairman of the
BWMCC, Mr H. O. Foote said that in future the mountain would be called ‘The Poinciana Drive of Queensland’.
In January 1949, the Nambour Chronicle
reported the first plantings and noted that ‘Buderim residents and visitors can
now look forward with a good deal of pleasure to a time when these beautiful
trees will provide a most colourful, shady and picturesque avenue’.
The first trees were planted in the main
road from the School of Arts, along the top of the mountain, to Mr. George
Burnett’s. The Gloucester Road avenue was planted in November 1950, and
in some locations it was necessary to blast holes in the surface rock for
planting.
The project was initiated by the BWMCC who worked with the
Main Roads Commission who authorised the plantings along one mile of road at a
cost of £300 [$600].
Some of these original
trees remain, but many have been lost or replaced. Development and power lines
are two factors that have affected the health of the trees, or led to substantial
pruning. However, The Sunshine Coast Council has repeatedly expressed
its commitment to maintaining poincianas as a feature of Buderim.
Street trees were not the first
poincianas in Buderim. Joyce Short (nee Nelson) recalls that the poincianas at her
childhood home, in William Street, were planted by her grandmother c1913, from
seeds collected on a visit to Townsville. These large trees are likely to be
the oldest in Buderim.
Meredith Walker, Buderim Tree
History
References available.
For Buderim history information,
email Buderimhistory@gmail.com
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