Description
This Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) is located at the rear of 21 Westmoreland Street. Its canopy extends over the roadway and adjoining properties. Its root zone would extend to adjacent properties. It measures approximately, height 18 metres, canopy spread 22 metres with trunk diameter 1.7 metres at one metre above the ground. The root base extends over 3.0 metres in diameter. This tree appears to be in good condition and health with a dense canopy. Some minor dead wood is present in the smaller branches which is typical of the species.
Significance
This Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) is a magnificent specimen of remarkable scale and proportions. Although this specimen is of local individual significance in terms of its visual, historic values, representative of many plantings of this species throughout the mid 19th century and early twentieth century, the species is now generally regarded as an exotic weed.
Historical notes
The tree is believed to pre-date date the existing surrounding development and may have been part of the gardens of a former estate estimated to have been planted c.1850. It is clearly visible as a prominent tree in 1943 aerial photos of the area which would support this age. The introduction of this species in the early nineteenth century as an ornamental exotic has had a profound impact on our natural bushland, gardens and pasturelands, and is rarely planted.
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