The Western Yalanji dendroglyph: The life and death of an Aboriginal carved tree

ABSTRACT Australian Aboriginal rainforest dendroglyphs are a rare and enigmatic cultural resource. Only twenty-three individual rainforest carved trees have been recorded, all in remote parts of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area which are rarely visited. The Western Yalanji dendroglyph is a near life size male anthropomorphic or zoomorphic figure carved into the trunk of a yellow walnut (Beilschmedia bancroftii) five metres above ground level on the Windsor Tableland, in the Western Yalanji estate. The Yalanji dendroglyph is a reminder of the vulnerability of rainforest dendroglyphs to natural processes. Inspections in 2015 identified significant fungal rot in the tree and by 2018 the tree had fallen. This paper documents the history, death and replication of the Yalanji dendroglyph by Western Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation.