MR PALLAS (Treasurer) — I rise to inform the house about the planting of a sapling from the Separation Tree in my electorate of Werribee. The original Separation Tree in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, a 400-year-old river red gum, marked the place where Victoria’s citizens gathered to hear the proclamation that Victoria had become a separate colony from New South Wales. The news was cause for great celebration and almost unVictorian happiness.

Sadly, the Separation Tree was severely damaged by repeated acts of vandalism and could not survive. A consolation is that 26 saplings have been successfully propagated from the tree and planted around Victoria, including one in a place of honour in the gardens of our Parliament House. I entrusted one of these saplings for the people of my Werribee electorate late last year to the very capable hands of the Victoria State Rose Garden volunteers. The tree has quickly grown to waist height and was appropriately transferred to the heritage grounds of Werribee Park on 17 February 2016.

We are fortunate in my electorate to have Werribee Park and the Chirnside mansion, which was home to the pioneering Chirnside pastoralists from Scotland. The venue brings considerable tourism to the area and is much loved by my constituents. The planting of the sapling at this venue serves as a reminder of the lineage and significance of the Separation Tree and is a broader reflection of Victoria’s great legacy and history.