Turner's Fig Tree

Parent Place or Precinct

03462 Turner's Cellar & Fig Tree, Turner Caravan Park

Statement of Significance

Turner’s Fig Tree is of significance: • For its associations with the Turner family, who were among the first pioneers of Augusta and instrumental in the original settlement’s development. • As a rare surviving feature associated with the original colonial settlement of Augusta (and the fledging colony in Western Australia).

Physical Description

This mature fig tree is set in the centre of Turners Caravan Park. It has an associated stone monument with a small plaque which reads: Old Settlement Original name of Turner Park Part of J. W. Turner’s Grant “C” 1830 The site does not include any specific interpretation of the planting of fig trees by the early settlers.

History

Colonial Settlement (c.1830-1849) • The Establishment of Augusta When the first settlers arrived at the mouth of the Blackwood River on the ‘Emily Taylor’ on 2 May 1830 they included James W Turner, his wife Maria and six children. The family had substantial capital and seven labourers, three of whom were accompanied by their own families.When land was issued in the new settlement of Augusta, James Turner took up a holding that included the site of this tree.Within a few years of settlement James Turner’s fellow landholders abandoned the area, as did most of the indentured labourers and, eventually, his sons. James Turner persisted for many years, but in 1849 he also withdrew from the Augusta settlement.In 1911 it was reported that there were still a ‘score’ of fig trees remaining that had been planted by the original colonial settlers: Where these gardens stood the visitor to-day sees nothing but a wilderness of red lilies, growing from the water's edge up to the margin of the forest, and a score of fig trees, that refuse to yield their fruit through the neglect of over half a century.In 1930 it was reported that at least some of the fig trees were still extant: an inspection was made of the remains of the old homesteads, where fig trees and flowers originally brought from England still struggle for existence with the native flora.In 2012 there is still a fig tree on what was Turner’s land (either one of the original trees, or grown from a cutting or sucker). The remains of the cellar from Turner’s house are located nearby (See Place # AU-23).Plaques mark both of these sites.

Integrity/Authenticity

High High

Condition

Good *Assessed from streetscape survey only

Creation Date

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