The Tree of Knowledge
The Tree of Knowledge. Photo: Len Cram.
The Tree of Knowledge was a Bimble box tree that stood in the intersection of Morilla and Opal Streers, “six inches off the centre of Morilla Street” up until 1961.
Snowy Brown named the tree. Brown was the first Justice of the Peace in the town, in 1908. As there was no court house, and court could not be held in the hotel, legal decisions were made around the Tree!
The Tree of Knowledge was the location of a community notice board. It hung in the fork of the Tree and was lit by a hurricane lamp before electricity arrived. Eggs and were left at the base of the tree for collection.
In 1961, the Tree of Knowledge was removed without warning. Citizens of the day regret not replanting a tree - this may have been the first roundabout in the district! There was a plan to place a token tree trunk with a commemorative plaque in the corner of the courthouse grounds, but this never came to fruition.
Article: Edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: Walgett Spectator, 21 August 1924, 21 March 1933; A Journey With Colour: A History of Lightning Ridge Opal 1873-2003, Len Cram, 2003, p. 164.