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Eucalyptus camaldulensis
River Red-gum
GENERAL APPEARANCE: A large, spreading tree, to 45 m tall. Bark pale grey to white, shed in broad strips.
LEAVES: Adult: alternate, petiolate, narrow-lanceolate, more or less symmetric, to 20 x 3 cm. Juvenile: alternate, petiolate, lanceolate, to 7 x 1.5 cm.
BUDS: In leaf axils, usually 7 per cluster, small spheres, to 3 mm across, with sharp point, attached to slender pedicels, to 5 mm long; pale green; operculum hemispherical with a sharp point; peduncle cylindrical, slender to 5 mm long.
FRUITS: Crown-like, to 5 mm across, with 4, triangular, protruding valves; on slender pedicels.
ENVIRONMENT: Riverine flats that are subject to periodic, albeit irregular, inundation.
NOTES: The most widespread eucalypt in the country, found in all states except Tasmania. The hard, deep-red wood is exceptionally durable and River Red Gums are still an important timber and firewood species.
KOORIE USE: Renowned canoe and corroboree trees. The bark was used for shields, water vessels, shelters and canoes. Leaves were used in steam baths to treat ailments. Gum was used to treat diarrhoea and burns. Other similar Eucalyptus species may have been used in the same way.



http://www.viridans.com.au/EUCS/E1258.HTM

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Campers sue over lethal branch fall
By Jewel Topsfield
May 13, 2004

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A caravan park at Barmah, in northern Victoria, is being sued for more than $1 million after one holiday maker was killed and another left brain damaged when they were struck by a falling branch from a river red gum.

Wendy Baldwin, of Koondrook, cried as she told the Supreme Court that she and her daughter, Megan Anwyl, were inside their caravan on January 25, 2001, when she heard a loud noise she thought was a clap of thunder.

When she opened the caravan door she found her husband, Ross Baldwin, and her son-in-law, Scott Anwyl, who had been sitting under the awning near the caravan crushed by a massive branch.

Mr Anwyl, 29, died the next day and Mr Baldwin, now 55, suffered severe brain injuries, which made him unemploy-able and unable to care for himself.

Mr Baldwin and Ms Anwyl are suing Segment Grange Pty Ltd, the operators of Barmah Caravan Park, and Moira Shire Council, the committee of management of the caravan park, for breach of duty of care.

Their lawyer, Jim Kennan, SC, said camping should have been prohibited under river red gums, which can shed limbs without warning.

He said the pair's claims included pain and suffering, loss of income, medical expenses, housing modifications and loss of support.

But Ross Gillies, for Segment Grange Pty Ltd, said the fami-lies were frequent visitors to the caravan park and well aware that falling branches were a hazard.

He said signs warning visitors of the risk posed by falling limbs from the park's 530 trees were at the entrance of the caravan park and in the office.

"There was nothing the proprietor of the park could do to avoid the accident, apart from shutting down the park," Mr Gillies said.

The trial, before Justice Robert Osborn, continues.

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