No, not a large steam engine (Gazette). What we here at the Friends of
Drouin's Trees call the Railway Giant, is the majestic remnant gum tree at the
corner of Albert Rd and Francis Ave.
The Railway Giant is so called because it grows beside the
railway line and is truly a giant with a girth of 7.75m and an estimated height
of 30+m, (not our biggest giant by the way).
This grand specimen is a Mountain Grey Gum or Eucalyptus
cypellocarpa and is probably around 300 years old and would most certainly have
witnessed Drouin's first steam engine passing beneath its outstretched limbs.
Like many of our old 'eucs', the Railway Giant has numerous
large and small hollows that offer excellent homes for a variety of native
fauna species. Many birds use the canopy for cover and for a source of insects
and nectar.
This magnificent tree has locked up many tons of carbon,
absorbed untold amounts of atmospheric pollutants, soaked up gallons and
gallons of storm water, breathed out litres and litres of oxygen, cooled the
air for years, etc.
We revere many other 'giants' – the giant Blue Whale, giant
Sequoias, even a Giant Earthworm – and we at the Friends of Drouin's Trees most
definitely admire and treasure Drouin's giant trees.
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