Leichhardt Tree, Taroom, Historical tree in Taroom, Australia

The Leichhardt Tree is a large coolibah tree standing in Yaldwyn Street with the distinctive shape that mature trees of this species develop in Queensland. Its trunk carries visible marks from the era of European exploration in the region.

A German explorer marked this coolibah tree during his major expedition from the Darling Downs to the Essington coast in 1844. The tree survived major flooding in 1893 and continues to show the traces of these events.

The tree marks a moment when European explorers arrived in the region and changed how the area developed. Today it stands in the heart of Taroom as a place where locals and visitors meet and remember this shared history.

The tree stands on the west side of the Yaldwyn Street reserve, between Dawson and Kelman Streets, about 150 metres up a steady slope from the Dawson River. Yaldwyn Street is part of the Leichhardt Highway, the main road in and out of Taroom. The blaze itself is no longer visible, so look for the 1988 bicentenary monument nearby.

The blaze once read LL.1844, but by 1916 one L and part of the date were already obscured; bark has since covered the rest, so nothing is visible today. In 1979 cavities from heavy lopping were plugged and sealed, and the tree regenerated. A monument was erected nearby on 23 October 1988 for Australia's Bicentenary and Leichhardt's 175th birthday.