Are We Facing Bunyageddon!
by Spencer Shaw
It’s not been the biggest of stories in the media over the last year or so, what with Covid, Scandal and Celebrity, so although you may have missed it, this is a story that has quite significant implications for the Sunshine Coast hinterland. In a few media reports you may have seen or heard about a disease called Bunya dieback afflicting the Bunya trees at the Bunya Mountains National Park (200km west of here and south of Kingaroy). The story goes that over the last few years many ancient Bunya have died and research is being undertaken to confirm the cause and hopefully reduce its impact. You may think, that it’s a shame that Bunyas are dying out west, lucky it’s not happening here, well...
First up let’s get a bit of context. In writing from theBlackall Range (Sunshine Coast Hinterland), I acknowledge the Bunya Countrytraditional owners, the Jinibara people. The Bunya belongs to this place on ascale of deep time that many of us may find hard to fathom. They have survivedon this country since before the age of dinosaurs and although once widespreadacross Australia they are now found in one fragmented population between hereand the Bunya Mountains and an even smaller population at Mt Lewis in NorthQueensland. Our human relationship with these trees extends back in time fortens of thousands of years as they have been revered and provided sustenance tothe Jinibara peoples and their neighbours, especially during the abundance ofthe Bunya Gatherings. The spiritual and cultural importance of the Bunya toFirst Nations peoples was defended fiercely during the early days of theBritish ‘settlement’, so much so that in 1842 the Bunya Proclamation was issuedby the Colony of New South Wales (Queensland was yet to be formed), preventingfelling and settlement by Europeans in Bunya country, one of the few instancesof such a proclamation by colonial authorities to recognise, if not the FirstNations peoples sovereignty on their own land, but recognise a forest on thatland. When Queensland was made a separate colony in 1859, the BunyaProclamation was rescinded and well, as they say, the rest is history... Onlyfragments of this once great forest have survived clearing, by being tuckedaway in inaccessible gullies and slopes. The Bunya then goes on to become anicon for some European colonists and they have been replanted in paddocks,gardens and more recently in revegetation, here and around Australia and theworld. Images of Bunya adorn corporate and community logos around the BlackallRange (inclusive of the towns of Maleny, Montville and Mapleton) making them aunique symbol for our area both ecologically and culturally. First nationspeople have maintained cultural connectivity to the Bunya throughout this timeand shared this culture with the new Australians.
Getting back to where I started and the big story that weshould be interested in on the Blackall Range with regards our iconic Bunyas. Theresearch undertaken at the Bunya Mountains National Park into the cause ofBunya dieback is that a type of Phytophthora, a water mould / oomycetes isresponsible. Phytophthora lives in and is transported in soil, and through itslife cycle damages the roots of trees, eventually preventing the tree fromgetting any nutrients or water. The initial symptoms of infection are diebackof the tree crown, followed by death of the whole tree over a few months. Thespecies of phytophthora thought to be responsible for the bunya dieback is Phytophthoramultivora, which has also caused dieback in the Wollemi pines in New SouthWales, and the ancient Kauri in New Zealand. It appears Bunya dieback wasintroduced into the area by movement of soil, on shoes and or vehicles.
Bunya dieback appears to be compounded by a range factors,including drought, temperature rises ... climate change. Long wet seasons maybe ideal for the spread and infection of this disease and damage to occur andif followed by periods of drought, trees that are damaged may then die.
There are an increasing number of records of Bunyas dying onthe Blackall Range over the last few years, so has Bunya dieback arrived here?It does appear our Bunya are also under threat ... are we too facingBunyageddon.
Well without wanting to create a major panic (apart from theinvention of the word Bunyageddon!) how can we who are current stewards of thiscountry ensure that these magnificent trees whose origin goes 100’s of millionsof years survive into the future.
Here at Brush Turkey Enterprises and Forest Heart ecoNurserywe we’ve been proactive in contacting National Parks at the Bunya Mountains tofind out more about this disease and its implications both there and here and havesupplied Bunya seedlings to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries fortheir research into the cause of Bunya dieback ... I hope they look afterthem...
So, what’s the first step in tackling this issue that might be facing us? Well to start off with, we want to raise awareness that Bunya dieback has potentially arrived on the Blackall Range and gather records of Bunya tree deaths, that we can use to help progress the research needed to confirm this. If you have a Bunya death on your property or know of one on public land please email details including your name, contact phone, address, photo and GPS location of tree if available, send emails to spencer.shaw@bruhsturkey.com.au
Through our production nursery we are also helping with preservation of the Bunya by growing 1000’s in tubestock and larger sized plants to help get more young Bunyas back onto this country. Together let us hope that we all as the current stewards of these amazing trees, can help them to last another 100 million years!
