My post on Ghost Gums has, for some reason, remained my most popular, despite the fact that I posted the entry more than five years ago. However, despite that popularity, it was still notable when it had more than 100 hits today. So I did a quick search on ghost gums to see what news might have triggered the avalanche. I was sad to learn that it was because of a particularly unpleasant act of vandalism: the twin ghost gums made famous by Aboriginal painter Albert Namatjira were burned to the ground. I’d seen these famous twin trees on two different trips to Australia. While all ghost gums are beautiful, the connection to Namatjira made these seem particularly evocative.
It’s hard to imagine what would drive someone to destroy these lovely, historic trees. It doesn’t even make a statement. It’s just mindless destruction.
For those who might be interested, here is a bit more on this incident and Namatjira.
Waltzing Australia 
I’m so glad you posted on this, Cynthia … a truly terrible thing to do. Vandalism, destroying for the sake of it, is such a … well, whatever I say would be trite and cliched.
Good to hear from you, Sue. And yes — it’s hard to find words for things that are so far from what we can imagine anyone doing. So glad I got to see the trees a couple of times while they were still there. But at least we still have Namatijira’s painting, so in a way, the trees will never die.