The Dungog Hospital Tree: still standing, for now

ON Hospital Road, just outside the Dungog Community Hospital, stands a solitary giant that has watched over the town of Dungog for generations.

This tree has stood on that ridge through the arrival of settlers, the building of the hospital, two World Wars, and more floods and droughts than any residents would remember.

It is part of the skyline that tells Dungog dwellers that they are home.

If removed, as part of the Hospital Road rehabilitation planned for the near future, it cannot be replaced.

The tree’s significance is not lost upon Dungog Council’s executive leadership.

“We acknowledge the community’s connection to the tree on Hospital Road and the significance it has had to the community for many generations,” said Director of Infrastructure and Assets, Damian Morris.

“As part of our maintenance planning, we reviewed Hospital Road to identify the works required to bring it to a suitable standard now and into the future.

“Further assessments are needed, therefore the project has been placed on hold until the next financial year.

“I can assure the community that no changes to the site will be undertaken without a further review by a qualified Arborist, and following community consultation.”

Councillor James Campbell had intended to support a motion at the Dungog Shire Council meeting on Wednesday, 19 August 2026, requesting that every reasonable option to retain the community tree was fully investigated by staff.

Both Mr Morris’s statement and Cr Campbell’s expected action will no doubt be greeted with relief by many, such as resident and conservationist, Ken Rubeli.

He sees the Hospital Tree as a living piece of Dungog’s story that he says “belongs to all of us”.

Mr Rubeli has called the Dungog community his home for nearly 40 years, having run the Wangat Lodge environmental education centre on the Chichester River for 29 years.

These days he lives on Mundhuk Heritage Reserve on Jerusalem Creek, right next to Barrington Tops National Park, while helping look after the Dungog Common.

Conservation is not a hobby for Mr Rubeli. It is how he has spent his working life, so when he looks at the big slaty red gum standing alone on Hospital Road outside the Community Hospital, he sees far more than a tree.

The tree, Eucalyptus glaucina, a relatively rare relative of the river red gum, has a girth of five metres.

Local naturalist Bill Dowling estimates it is at least 200 years old.

A photograph from the early 1900s already shows it standing tall beside the old Cottage Hospital.

It is visible against the sky from almost every direction around town and from the hills of the Common.

No other tree in Dungog matches it and it is listed as a vulnerable species under national environment law.

Yet, its future is uncertain.

Two years ago, Council prepared a scoping study and won a State Government grant to rehabilitate Hospital Road.

The work was expected in 2026–27.

The scoping study was never released to the public.

Mr Rubeli believes the people of Dungog still have a real chance to influence the outcome, if they act now, while the design is unfinished.

“Once the detailed plans are locked in, it becomes much harder to change course,” Mr Rubeli said.

“Creative solutions exist elsewhere in Australia for roads that must pass near significant trees. Narrowing, realigning, or carefully protecting the root zone are all options that deserve thorough examination. We should insist they are examined thoroughly.”

Mr Rubeli told News Of The Area, “There is already a buzz around town. People are talking. Concern is growing. The stronger the case becomes for finding a way around this magnificent tree rather than removing it, the more likely we will be successful in retaining a significant branch of Dungog history.”

Residents interested in the hospital tree’s preservation are encouraged to contact Council and Councillors to express their wishes.