Historical information

William Dower came with his family to the Mt Dandenong in 1898, taking up a 10 acre allotment. William and his wife Elizabeth had seven boys (Will, Harry, Bert, Walter, Joe, Edgar, Robert) and four girls (Emmy, May, Ada, Ruby). The property secured by William Dower was known as ‘Cambridge Gardens’ and had a two room slab hut. William and his sons added another five rooms using trees from the property. The family established extensive crops and worked hard for their success. The acreage extended to 30 when the family bought up neighbouring properties.
Standing on William Dower's land this mighty tree was 286 feet high to its broken top with a 66 feet girth. It took Wally and Bert Dower a week to grub out the tree and then another week for the wind to blow it down.

Physical description

Black and white photograph with a very tall dead tree in the centre. A group of people visible in the foreground