Tag Location: Dryandra/Wilgadiny, Western Australia
Counter-score from a seed orchard
We walk through what was a seed orchard, what was a field, what was a Mallet plantation, what was woodland, what was the country before and always was and always will be. Rows of experimental Eucalyptus plantings are alive or dead or twisted sticks. These sticks do not obey symmetrical ideals. Branches turning away, shielding themselves from the sun, regrowing after insect attack. Twelve twisted limbs. Run your hands along the smooth, dense, satin surfaces. Paths that are circular and not direct, leading around and looping back. My task is step back from the centre. What’s yours? Slow life and death in the arboretum is awaiting names being returned.