The Dig Tree
reputed 200 to 250 years oldCoolibah
One word carved into this coolibah in April 1861 made it one of the most famous trees in Australia: DIG. William Brahe's party had held the depot camp on Cooper Creek, Camp LXV, while Burke, Wills, Gray and King pushed north toward the Gulf. On 21 April, forced to abandon the post, Brahe blazed one of two coolibahs on the creek's north bank and cut that instruction over a cache of supplies buried at its foot. Burke and Wills died near this creek within months. Only King survived. The tree outlived all of them and still stands on the same bank. Queensland gazetted a 4,470 square metre reserve around it in 1964 and added it to the state heritage register in 2003. The Royal Historical Society of Queensland holds it in trust, and a refurbishment in 2020 brought a boardwalk, interpretive signage and a site fee of around eleven dollars at the gate. The road is the rest of the price: 44 kilometres of unsealed Adventure Way from Innamincka, and it closes after rain. Its age is guesswork. Tourism sources repeat a reputed 200 to 250 years, and nobody has measured it. If you know the real figure, tell us.
The button above opens directions in your maps app. No public transport; self-drive only, on outback dirt roads. Nearest fuel/services at Innamincka, SA (~44km) or Thargomindah, QLD (~377km).
- Species
- Coolibah (Eucalyptus microtheca)
- Age estimate
- reputed 200 to 250 years old
- Location
- Dig Tree Reserve, Nappa Merrie Station, Cooper Creek, Shire of Bulloo, Queensland (Cooper Creek, far south-west Queensland near the South Australian border)
- Access
- Publicly accessible: a fenced 4,470 sqm memorial reserve declared by the Queensland Government in 1964, held in trust for the public by the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, physically inside the Nappa Merrie pastoral property but run as a visitor site with interpretive signage, boardwalk and wheelchair access. A conservation/site-management fee (reported around AU$11) is payable at the gate or by QR code. Reached via unsealed Adventure Way roads: about 44km from Innamincka, SA, or 377km from Thargomindah, QLD; caravan-accessible in good weather, can be cut off after rain.
- Getting there
- No public transport; self-drive only, on outback dirt roads. Nearest fuel/services at Innamincka, SA (~44km) or Thargomindah, QLD (~377km).
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