Elaborate scars left by old campfires are found on the side of the tree that leans toward you. Many eucalypts grow on a slant and if your fire was set under the sheltered side it would be protected from the rain. The scars left from the fires are strangely shaped but often have residual burns in spots and patches. There are no axe marks or set outlines to the camp scars but they can reach high into the tree. I suspect this is dieback from the flame and heat damage. Mostly these fire scars have no bottom edge generally starting at ground level. However some of the older scars have progressed further up the tree as it ages.
The peculiar thing about campfire scars it that the trees are sometimes quite small in relation to the size of the scar. These young trees are often dead whereas the big campfire trees have survived the burns. Another interesting point is these fire scarred trees are often clustered together suggesting that a largish group of people may have moved through together. They may have been passing by or they could have assembled for some cultural reason. The bigger leaning trees especially those with large low lateral branches look like they may have been used more than once. The undersides of the long horizontal branches are sometimes scarred for a few meters or more.
It seems to be mainly Coolibah trees that lend themselves to slanting and branching out early so as to be useful as campfire trees. It may be that the old indigenous practise of bending saplings was to create these types of trees? Tree modifying seems to have been a common practise here remembering these vast western plains have no caves or rock formations. Trees were more than food sources, shelter structures and landmarks. Some had great spiritual significance and were known about hundreds of kilometres away from where they grew. Fireplace/campfire trees carry spectacular scars that record the past and are still around for interested people to see and admire.
