Bigger than the average tree?

The Herbig Tree, Springton, Adelaide Hills South Australia

Having managed by hook or crook to escape the axe, an ancient arboreal relic lives on near the South Australian township of Springton in the Adelaide Hills. And what a giant it is!

Over its lifetime, the so-called Herbig tree has 'been through the wars', hollowed out by bushfires and resprouting in response.

Bigger than the average tree!

To get a true picture of River Red Gum's width and girth, check out its size in relation to the person sheltering beneath it.  

Hard as it may be to believe, this tree housed a growing family in the 'olden days'. As part of an economy drive while paying off his land, recently-arrived German settler Johann Herbig took up residence inside its hollowed out trunk in 1853.

Three years later he married and welcomed his wife to his tree house abode where they lived until the birth of their second child.

https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/herbig.htm

Interpretive signs reveal the life and times of the local family who lived in this 'tree house' when they were getting a start in life.

Interpretive signs reveal the life and times of the hard done by local family which lived in this 'tree house' whens times were tough.