History tells us that a founding principle as to siting our city on the limestone plains was the life giving qualities originating from the mountains to our west. In 1909, as he rode across the grassy woodlands, Commonwealth Surveyor-General Charles Scrivener had a simple brief. He was responsible for locating the seat of government for the nation. Water was one critical element in doing so. In mapping out a site for a city as grand as ours, the supply of crystal clear drinking water was decisive. It was only natural that water catchments would shape the nature of our territory.   

Beginning in 1910 from the summit of Mt Coree, Surveyor-General Scrivener tasked Surveyor Percy Sheaffe to survey the proposed border. His instructions were fairly simple: follow the watershed, establishing a border. What Scrivener didn’t elaborate on were the enormous challenges in navigating this ancient landscape. Few, if any, Europeans had stepped foot into this environment. The terrain was rugged, extremely remote, isolated from any creature comforts. To complete this formidable task, surveyors Harry Mouat and Freddie Johnston were assigned to help survey the watershed.

As astute, highly skilled bush-men, the surveyors plotted a course along the mountain ridge tops. If you were a rain drop falling on one side you would now be in the ACT. Hence water catchments had determined the nature of our border.

To mark this border, the surveyors carved a blaze in a nearby tree with an axe. With the skill worthy of an artist’s, they painstakingly hand-chiselled the inscription ‘CT’ (Commonwealth Territory) along with surveyor’s broad arrow now referenced the border. They blazed more than 1500 of these historic border reference trees. Given the ravages of time, fire and storms, today only a handful remain in-situ.  

This week, an ambitious project to weave an engaging narrative around this epic tale came to fruition. One of these historic border reference trees was dug out by hand and transported by helicopter to sit in pride of place within the grounds of the Namadgi Visitor Information Centre at Tharwa, along with a shelter and interpretive information about the surveyors’ journey 100 years ago.

Referred to affectionately as the Mouat Tree, this culturally significant reference tree serves as a tangible reminder of the pioneering exploits of those hardy surveyors.

The new Mouat Tree interpretive hub provides a wonderful opportunity to glean an insight into the trials and tribulations our surveyors faced in shaping the nature of our bush capital. Why not visit today?