The Tree Of Knowledge — Attraction in Barcaldine

its a little known fact that the union movement started in Britain at Tolpuddle under a tree. the tree in britain has a small plaque that outlines why people revolted against the landlord employers - the money they were earning didn't cover the bills. unlike the barcaldine tree the locals didn't poison this national monument regardless of their political views , infact even the most ardent right winger in britain would look at you as a madman if you poisoned the tolpuddle tree.

the union leaders at tolpuddle were sentenced to death which was commuted to transportation to the prison colony of australia - eventually the leaders were pardoned. i suspect that the union leaders at barcaldine already knew the beginnings of the unions movement in britain and decided to make their own history.

Maybe someone took a cutting / seeds from the real tree before it was killed? ( the real tree was maliciously poisoned a few years ago - a memorial was built in...

The Tree of Knowledge is a pretty good and historic area of Barcaldine. It is where the Australian Labor Party began and the Tree, is the centre piece. The tree today, was killed due to disease however a Wooden Structure has been constructed around what's left of the original tree. There are explanations about the tree on information boards, however I feel that the info boards could be expanded, considering how important they are.

Easy access to the train station though, which is also a historical area. The Spirit of the outback stops at the Railway Station, 4 times a week. 2 Westbound, 2 East Bound. Great opportunity to get off and have a...

Such a tragedy that petty minded vandalism led to the desecration if this iconic living thing. It just goes to show that fans of tyranny and exploitation move amongst us, ready to destroy even the symbols of struggles for a fair go.

Mercifully, a state Labor state government doubled down on the event (poisoning of the tree) and have converted the entire precinct into an interpretative display that is well worth checking out. (Probably the only decent thing the Anna Bligh government did ! )

I think a visit to this place is essential for every ALP politician and candidate and probably even for others, just so they can get an insight into...