Historical information

The Big Tree is listed a a tree of State significance on the National Trust's Register of Significant Trees of Victoria for its outstanding size, curious fusion of branches, as an outstanding example of the species and as an important landmark.

Physical description

A photographs of Guildford's Big Tree - a River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). The tre-es is believed to be one of the largest examples of the species in Victoria, and has been recorded as having a height of 30 metre, a canopy spread of 34 metres, and a trunk circumference of 9.35 metres.

The tree was already an ancient giant when white settlers first arrived in the 1840s.

On Saturday evening, February 28th 2015, just as dusk was falling, Guildford was hit hard by tornado-like winds, felling the big cottonwood tree down by the river, and tearing limbs from the iconic Big Tree, reducing it by an estimated one third. The debris has been cleared since then and the tree seems to have survived its ordeal, though its size is certainly diminished.