Boab Prison Tree

0 reviews | Write a review

Overview

More photos

This ancient and very large (14 metre diameter) boab tree has significance to Aboriginal people as well as being a very interesting botanical specimen.

The tree is believed to be around 1,500 years old and has a girth of 14.7 metres. It is registered as an Aboriginal site. The Prison Tree is situated just over 23 kilometres along the King River Road. This remarkable boab tree was used by the early police patrols as an overnight lock-up. These patrols would take regular trips out to the surrounding stations to collect wrongdoers and ensure all was well.

The boab tree is hollow with a hole cut in its side to form an entrance. It is a day's travel from Wyndham and with an easily accessible water supply; this natural cell was an obvious choice for a stopover. The prison tree dates as far back as the 1890s.

Its association with the history of interactions with early pastoralists and Aboriginal people is told in a nearby interpretive centre. This centre also tells of the biology of the boab tree and the events that took place in the droving days and World War Two on the adjacent town commonage.

The tree is protected by a fence and visitors are requested not to approach close to the tree as a token of respect for its cultural values.

For day use only. Camping is not permitted.

Adjacent to the tree is a short botanical trail leading to a picnic area and Myall's Bore - the longest cattle trough in the southern hemisphere.