An Act Of Man Poem by Francis Duggan

The old gum was a hundred years and more
It was a babe in eighteen ninety four
And last week the Council Workers cut it down
Too old a tree to be left live in town.

The tree surgeon had reported it unsound
And signs of ageing and disease he found
But when cut down it looked healthy and green
And not one sign of disease to be seen.

A job well done all the Council did agree
And those who came to mourn for the tree
Were informed the giant was dangerous and too old
And human life is precious they were told.

The Mayor who ordered the tree felled on advice
Was told by some he had made the wrong choice
But he found a way out and to save face
Had young gum planted in the old gum's place.

A possum family lived on that old tree
And parrot had her nest in cavity
But protection of wild life not in the Council's plan
And they are victims of 'an act of man'.

The old gum was a hundred years and more
It was a babe in eighteen ninety four
But deemed too old and dangerous for the town
Last week the Council Workers cut it down.