Bountiful bunyas : a charismatic tree with a fascinating history

One of the most iconic of Queensland trees would have to be the bunya (Araucaria bidwillii). Its towering, dome-shaped silhouette can be seen dominating the treeline of the city botanic gardens, Roma Street Parklands, and locations all around south-east Queensland. As a child, growing up, I recognised the distinctive shape of the tree without knowing what it was called or its significance. As an adult, I have come to appreciate the unique history of the bunya, and its enduring relationship with First Nations peoples.   

A prehistoric tree, the bunya has existed since the Jurassic period, while many of its relatives from the era are now extinct. The botanical family to which it belongs, Araucariaceae, includes the Wollemi pine. They can live up to 600 years and produce massive cones up to 10kg. When these cones fall they can be extremely hazardous, a fact that has caused consternation for councils for decades.   

For generations, First Nations peoples gathered every three years for a great bunya feast. While bunyas fruit annually, every three to four years there would be a bumper crop, and this was the time for differences to be set aside and clans to gather, feast, trade, marry, perform initiations and other ceremonial duties. Academic Ray Kerkhove sought to compile a “living image” of the Bunya Gatherings in his book The great bunya gathering : early accounts. He writes: 

Gatherings were generally held in the Blackall Ranges at Baroon Pocket and in the Bunya Mountains. Clans from far away would be invited to one location or the other.  

Recognising the significance of the bunya to the local clans, New South Wales Governor George Gipps sought to restrict logging and preserve the area we now know as the Sunshine Coast for the use of First Nations peoples. In 1842 he issued a notice prohibiting the occupation of this land by European colonists and refusing licences to fell the massive trees. Queensland became an independent state in 1859, and in 1860 the edict was repealed. This led to the forcible removal of First Nations peoples around the Sunshine Coast to make way for rapid colonisation, disrupting connection to Country and resulting in widespread felling of bunyas. The last Bunya Gathering was said to have been held in the late 19th or early 20th century.   

Tom Petrie's reminiscences of early Queensland, recorded by his daughter Constance Petrie, recount a white man’s version of the historic bunya gathering. Tom grew up amongst the children of the Turrbal people, as there were no other white children for him to play with in the early days of Brisbane. He was a teenager when he attended one of the great gatherings with a large group of Turrbal people and was, according to his daughter, the only free white man to have ever been present at a feast. Constance writes: 

In 1937 a small bunya tree was planted on the river bank at North Quay to commemorate the coronation of King George VI. Although this act was described as “the simplest and yet probably the most enduring” commemoration of the day the bunya has since disappeared, a quiet victim of progress like so many others. 

While the traditional Bunya Gathering was disrupted by colonisation, First Nations peoples found ways to keep continuity of culture. Stories were passed down, as were the traditional methods of gathering and preparing bunya nuts for eating. In 2007 Kabi Kabi Elder Beverly Hand established the Bunya Dreaming Festival. Its purpose was not to reinvent the old Gatherings, but to reimagine the Festival for the modern audience, with reconciliation an important underpinning principle. 

BJ Murphy, a Jinibara Elder, shared his thoughts on the bunya and the traditional gatherings with Shannon Brett, author of Kindred Spirits: plants and people.  

BJ Murphy’s full account can be read in the publication, available to purchase from the Library Book Shop. With text by Shannon Brett, featuring images from State Library’s collection and more, it explores the ancient and ongoing connection between First Nations people and plants in Queensland. This publication was developed in response to the Entwined: plants and people exhibition which is open now and runs until November 14, 2021. 

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• Queensland’s coastal kidneys: mangrove
• The grand florilegiums of Joseph Banks and Ferdinand Bauer
• Queensland’s gympie-gympie: the world’s most painful plant
• Grand botanical publications of the 18th and 19th centuries: from scientific discovery to practical horticulture

Commitment statement

This material contains Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander content, and has been made available in accordance with State Library of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections Commitments.