Mystical Australian Bush Picnic
The Ghost Gum holds great significance in Australian bush mythology. Around Riversleigh, trees grow together without any fuss from any part of the world. The trunk of this tree and boughs are known to glow whitely in the night, visible through the forest or Bush, like a ghost, hence the name.
The Queensland Kauri Pine is one of the oldest prehistoric species of tree in Australia. The bark is like a painting itself, steeped in artistic patterning, as if an artist has made a few brushstrokes with a deft hand. The trunk is good for hugging, too.
No Bush picnic would be complete without the adopted English Plane tree. These trees have socialised so well with their Australian neighbours, they often link roots and share nutrients under the earth. The shade this tree provides for spreading a rug under is perfect.
Under the native Moreton Bay Fig, the ravens gather. The strong boughs resemble absolute strength, and it’s no wonder the Ravens at Riversleigh make it their home. They are a part of every picnic in the Riversleigh Murmuring Woods.
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a story often told by the trees*, which begins:
“On Saturday 14th February 1900 a party of schoolgirls from Appleyard College picknicked at Hanging Rock, near Mt. Macedon in the State of Victoria. During the afternoon several members of the party disappeared without a trace…” and is mysteriously intriguing to listen to, and often haunts for many years those who have heard of it.
Beyond the picnic ground is the famed river Lethe, where things that want to be left behind, or forgotten, can be. Gaze into the magnetic blue waters and remember what it is you would like to forget.
*Joan Lindsay’s mysterious story was first published by F. W. Cheshire in 1967.
(copyright Imogen Crest 2006.)