TUART
Tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) is a superb forest giant growing within the Swan Coastal Plain, an area of about 15000 km². With distinctive rough, textured grey bark becoming darker on branches, tuarts have silvery olive green dense foliage. In the past tuart habitat has been described as woodlands as it is more open than a forest, although these days it is simply described as tuart forest. Early settlers first description of the tuart woodlands was of open forest with 'visibility clear for half a mile in any direction'.
Within the Swan Coastal Plain, tuart was originally estimated to cover an area of 1116 km², the tuart forest now includes about 300 km² with small remnant old-growth areas remaining. Tuart grows best at its southern range at Ludlow 200 km south of Perth where the government has identified this region for special protection and rehabilitation. Originally known as the Ludlow Tuart Forest, this narrow strip of land contains both national park and state forest surrounded by open farmland. Before this recognition, much clearing for logging and grazing occurred as well as mining for titanium being approved in 2003 in State Forest number 2 despite public protests. In spite of the extensive clearing over the years, I've found all the biggest trees exclusively in this protected area with remnant farmland giants, just outside the borders of Tuart Forest National Park.
Logging took place soon after settlement in the Swan River Colony, first in Kings Park then south around the Ludlow region named for Fredrick Ludlow who first settled in the area after 1834. The famous Busselton Jetty was constructed for improved shipping access in 1865 right next to the Ludlow forest. State forest 1 and 2 were purchased in 1919, and a mill was established in 1920, along with the Ludlow Forestry School in 1921. Logging continued on and off until 1974 when attitudes began to change, and the Tuart Forest National Park was created in 1987, tuarts now being fully protected. Tuart wood is prized where great strength and durability is needed. Such uses were in shipbuilding, wheel manufacturing, railway carriages and bridge supports among other general heavy construction. Its wood finishes to a honey colour with darker interlocking grains providing tremendous strength. The timber is very difficult to work on and is one of the heaviest woods in the world.
Tuart is protected now with many parks and reserves around Perth containing old mature trees including Kings Park and Bold Park. In Perth's southern suburbs the Beeliar Wetlands contains remnant tuart populations and fine specimens can still be found through Mandurah despite much land clearance and urbanisation.
Tuart grows on sandy, well-drained soil over limestone deposits. Many tuarts were cleared to access Perth's limestone ridge for brickwork, and historic buildings were built using this material including Fremantle Prison and the Round House, WA's first building.
Within the Swan Coastal Plain, tuart was originally estimated to cover an area of 1116 km², the tuart forest now includes about 300 km² with small remnant old-growth areas remaining. Tuart grows best at its southern range at Ludlow 200 km south of Perth where the government has identified this region for special protection and rehabilitation. Originally known as the Ludlow Tuart Forest, this narrow strip of land contains both national park and state forest surrounded by open farmland. Before this recognition, much clearing for logging and grazing occurred as well as mining for titanium being approved in 2003 in State Forest number 2 despite public protests. In spite of the extensive clearing over the years, I've found all the biggest trees exclusively in this protected area with remnant farmland giants, just outside the borders of Tuart Forest National Park.
Logging took place soon after settlement in the Swan River Colony, first in Kings Park then south around the Ludlow region named for Fredrick Ludlow who first settled in the area after 1834. The famous Busselton Jetty was constructed for improved shipping access in 1865 right next to the Ludlow forest. State forest 1 and 2 were purchased in 1919, and a mill was established in 1920, along with the Ludlow Forestry School in 1921. Logging continued on and off until 1974 when attitudes began to change, and the Tuart Forest National Park was created in 1987, tuarts now being fully protected. Tuart wood is prized where great strength and durability is needed. Such uses were in shipbuilding, wheel manufacturing, railway carriages and bridge supports among other general heavy construction. Its wood finishes to a honey colour with darker interlocking grains providing tremendous strength. The timber is very difficult to work on and is one of the heaviest woods in the world.
Tuart is protected now with many parks and reserves around Perth containing old mature trees including Kings Park and Bold Park. In Perth's southern suburbs the Beeliar Wetlands contains remnant tuart populations and fine specimens can still be found through Mandurah despite much land clearance and urbanisation.
Tuart grows on sandy, well-drained soil over limestone deposits. Many tuarts were cleared to access Perth's limestone ridge for brickwork, and historic buildings were built using this material including Fremantle Prison and the Round House, WA's first building.
The above image shows typical tuart bark. It is usually a light grey to nearly bone white in direct sunlight, to darker grey or brown in shaded conditions. The bark is rough, scaly and flaky, with irregular but attractive patterns. Tuart grows best with annual rainfall between 700-900 mm. I've read tuart can live to 400 years old which I can't confirm but suspect this being highly likely. The tuart forest have a rich and diverse habitat. A 2014 study found nearly 600 plant and 113 animal species native in the Tuart Forest National Park. This included many fungi species associated with nutrient turnover, essential in the low nutrient sandy soil. Besides occasional jarrah and marri trees, tuart dominate the forest and are found in pure stands around Ludlow creating an impressive experience of grey toned trunks. Important understory trees include banksia (Banksia), sheoak (Casuarina), paperbark (Melaleuca) and peppermint (Agonis). The leaves of the peppermint tree being a vital food source for the endangered western ringtailed possum (Pseudocheiridae occidentalis) which live in the hollows of large tuarts. The western brushtail possum (Trichosaurus vulpecula) is found in the highest densities at Ludlow. There is a possum spotlighting trail walk at the Wonnerup Giant.
Other threatened species are the carnivorous brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), Baudin's and Carnaby's black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus baudinii and latirotris) which rely on the large hollows in big tuarts for shelter and nests. Also, the extremely rare white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) nest in large tuart. They were recorded over a hundred years ago at Fremantle when big tuart still grew. Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) are still seen around the Perth region, although they tend to nest in the tall introduced norfolk island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) as large tuart are rare. The little eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) is an inhabitant of the tuart forest. I’m regularly accompanied by one of these beautiful birds when I’m measuring tuarts and have placed one of their feathers in my hat, along with a red tailed black cockatoo feather (Calptorhynchus banksii). I once came across a large Rosenberg's goanna (Varanus rosenbergi) across the track at Ludlow, the day I found the Grand Giant, a spectacular tuart with a very wide spreading canopy, and the tallest tuart I'd measured at over 40 m tall.
Some challenges which face tuart rehabilitation around the Ludlow Tuart Forest are a proliferation of invasive lilies and water moulds causing dieback like in the Jarrah Forest. Several new species of dieback have also been identified in the tuart woodland reducing nutrient uptake in their roots. The western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) particularly likes young tuart leaves which reduces new growth. All these stressors, as well as 180 years of cattle grazing, are severely affecting tuart recovery in this unique forest.
Some challenges which face tuart rehabilitation around the Ludlow Tuart Forest are a proliferation of invasive lilies and water moulds causing dieback like in the Jarrah Forest. Several new species of dieback have also been identified in the tuart woodland reducing nutrient uptake in their roots. The western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) particularly likes young tuart leaves which reduces new growth. All these stressors, as well as 180 years of cattle grazing, are severely affecting tuart recovery in this unique forest.
Tuart trees are a unique and beautiful addition to the Swan Coastal Plain, they are big but rare trees around Perth becoming progressively larger and more numerous heading down the South coast, right along the main highway. There's no register for tuarts, I suppose it's because they only live on the Swan Coastal Plain which is relatively urbanised and little forest management takes place, more urban planning. Nevertheless I have my own database and from years of measuring them I can say that the largest are indeed found in the Tuart Forest National Park and surrounding farmland. For many years I neglected hunting there, thinking I had explored the area fully. Since 2020, I've been back again and found over 10 new giants all in a small section of forest and adjacent farmland in an area I'm calling Tuart Grove. This small section of forest is not even 1 km² and has not been logged with many old giants and fallen relics having made this area home for thousands of years. In fact, over half of the twenty biggest tuarts are recorded in this grove! These 2020 finds have replaced all but the Wonnerup Giant from my previous lists, still the champ! Indeed, in 2022 I noticed a massive bleached white trunk in the distance which I initially hoped was a single trunk in Tuart Grove. Experience has almost always proved on closer inspection to be two trees close by. When I arrived however and saw a single solid bleached white trunk I thought could be the largest tuart. I named this tuart the Iron Giant, I believe it was the largest tuart until it lost one of its three main limbs. With several fallen relics in Tuart Grove, I believe about 15 tuarts known have reached 100 m³ in volume, including four 2025 discoveries, the Ghostly, Durable, Stone and Soaring Giant, as well as the now rediscovered Lost Giant. All these last mentioned tuarts are from a new hot spot I'm calling the Wonnerup Grove, named for the mighty Wonnerup Giant. These relics, like Tuart Grove were left alone while the surrounding forest was cleared for farming, later abandoned and in 1987 included within Tuart Forest National Park. In 2025 I went back on an old track in Wonnerup Grove I'd been on decades ago remembering there were nice but not especially large tuarts there. On revisiting this walk, there was nothing remarkable except one I thought had any significance, although it had a relatively narrow trunk. It turned out to be the tallest tuart, the first over 50 m tall and just over 100 m³ in total volume! It also had a huge eagle nest 38 m up. I named this new discovery the Soaring Giant, only 300 m south of the Wonnerup Giant, and 350 m east of the Lost Giant. Only a few hundred metres east are even larger tuarts hiding away in this tiny grove!
Driving down to the tuart forest, I'm always excited by the experience. I find it extraordinary that the main tourist road, Tuart Drive goes through the forest at highway speed, a challenging pace to appreciate these trees. I'm not sure people realise that this forest is the last and finest stand of tuart forest left in the world.
Driving down to the tuart forest, I'm always excited by the experience. I find it extraordinary that the main tourist road, Tuart Drive goes through the forest at highway speed, a challenging pace to appreciate these trees. I'm not sure people realise that this forest is the last and finest stand of tuart forest left in the world.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS
There are a few historic tuart images, but none that really show a giant tuart. For those who have periodically read this website, there was one giant tuart Brett found in 1994 but has since been lost, or rather couldn't be relocated. Dubbed the Lost Giant, it was certainly a giant and seemed to have the biggest base known on a tuart. In the decades since, I've searched for it regularly, however we thought it either likely fell due to its damaged condition, or was felled in State Forest 2 during mining operationes in 2004-06. In 2025 during a small scale tree exploration near the Durable Giant, Rowan, my sister and myself stumbled across what I quickly realised was in fact the Lost Giant! In the 31 years since Brett's photo, it remarkably hasn't changed much, a bit less intact but well and truely alive, although leaning and splitting more. It will certainly collapse at some point, but it's great to rediscover it before that happens!
There are a few historic tuart images, but none that really show a giant tuart. For those who have periodically read this website, there was one giant tuart Brett found in 1994 but has since been lost, or rather couldn't be relocated. Dubbed the Lost Giant, it was certainly a giant and seemed to have the biggest base known on a tuart. In the decades since, I've searched for it regularly, however we thought it either likely fell due to its damaged condition, or was felled in State Forest 2 during mining operationes in 2004-06. In 2025 during a small scale tree exploration near the Durable Giant, Rowan, my sister and myself stumbled across what I quickly realised was in fact the Lost Giant! In the 31 years since Brett's photo, it remarkably hasn't changed much, a bit less intact but well and truely alive, although leaning and splitting more. It will certainly collapse at some point, but it's great to rediscover it before that happens!
The rediscovered Lost Giant in 2025. This massive tuart is 3.3 m in DBH and split into two main heads at 10.5 m, using Brett's old 1994 image, which is the best. These days its just a mess of broken wood at the split, which now extends down to 8 m, just seen at the top of the above image. It leans 2 m off centre, 1 m more than 31 years ago. It's oval in cross section, in this view it looks massive, over 4 m thick at DBH! I measured the trunk at 60.9 m³ in volume, and the two fallen limbs plus a 'smaller' 1 m thick limb at 50.3 m³ in volume! All up, I get 111.2 m³ in restored potential total volume with at least 10 m³ of missing and smaller limbs. I suspect it was at least 120 m³ in total volume once, the same size as the Wonnerup Giant!
This image of the Smashed Giant is from 2024, although I found it in 2022. An enormous tuart I initially thought was Brett's Lost Giant, but comparing images showed it was not the same tree. Very similar in size, it prompted me to search and explore Tuart Forest National Park more thoroughly leading to the Tuart Grove discovery and many new giant tuarts. This tree is 3.2 m in DBH and a semi restored 2.8 m wide at 5 m! As seen, a huge chunck is lying next to it, smashed on the ground. I made an effort to measure what was left and found that the trunk was about 12 m tall before 2 heads both 1.2 m wide split off, with a few 'smaller' heads several tonnes too! Width at 10 m was 2.1 m. I estimated a restored trunk of 73.5 m³ and limbs of 39.5 m³, plus about 5 m³ missing for a restored potential total volume of 118 m³!
This image of the Destroyed Giant is from 2024. On private property next to The Defiant Giant, it may have been bigger! With a DBH of 2.7 m, at ZG it's 4 m wide. At 5 m however, it's a massive 2.5 m wide. Hardly any tuarts, or any other trees in the Southwest are bigger at that height. Breaking from 4 m onwards, the trunk extends up to 13 m, where only one massive limb remains, but I think one other limb and the trunk continued. At 10 m it's a semi restored 1.9 m wide with a trunk volume to 13 m at 59 m³. Using other giant tuarts with single trunks as a guide, I estimate about 32 m³ could be restored from 13 m onwards for a potential conservative volume of 91 m³ or more.
This image of the Blasted Giant is from 2024. The first really large tuart seen when entering Tuart Drive east off the Bussell Hwy. A farmland remnant, this massive tuart is bleached white from decades of direct sunlight. I first saw this with my mother in the mid 1990s on our tuart trip, it's a bit of a favourite. It had a split trunk from 14 m onwards but soon afterwards one giant limb broke off. It remained on the ground for decades, (seen behind me), only in 2025 has the farmer started to remove the roughly 15 m³ of wood. Over 4 m wide at ZG, and 2.9 m in DBH, the Blasted Giant is 1.9 m wide at 10 m which puts it close to the widest tuart at that height. By 13 m it's still 1.8 m wide when the split and massive blast scar are seen. I measured 77.5 m³ in volume in 2020 plus the at least 15 m³ of wood lying on the ground for a restored potential total volume of over 90 m³.
TOP TEN TUART
TOP TEN TUART
