North Wagga Flats Tree House. Photo: Museum of the Riverina.
This week, the team from the Museum of the Riverina has discovered a photo that takes us back at least 100 years (possibly earlier), to the North Wagga Flats.
Here, a gentleman has made his home inside the trunk of one of the ancient gums that used to be a common sight dotted across the Flats.
With a door cut in the base, our friend has attempted to make this rough dwelling a comfortable home.
Take a close look at the photo and you will see both personal touches including a makeshift dining table, neatly staked garden which has produced a bounty of pumpkins, linen, utensils and a bed just visible through the door.
It was not uncommon to see later itinerants or post-WWII migrants also living in these large trees, even as late as the 1950s.
Tree with a hinged door. Photo: Museum of the Riverina.
Today is it primarily photographic evidence that remains to show the ingenuity of those facing homelessness, as most of these trees have been either knocked over in storms and floods, or burned down.
In the early 21st century, one tree still survived on the Flats that had a hinged door attached but sadly, this no longer stands.
What do you think it would have been like living in a tree?
Photos and information supplied by the Museum of the Riverina (Wagga Daily Advertiser and Jack Ellis collections).
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