Spinney
Near Melon Hut, I knew of some small trees that were different ...
When I was about ten, I liked to walk along the old railway between the weir and Allawah (more so at Melon Hut Creek between the two). I did it often enough to notice little things, which the walkers of our suburb will attest is a nice thing that happens when you go at walking pace.
Near Melon Hut, I knew of some small trees that were different to the others of the paddock, being thin in their leaf and generally greener and more upright. When I first met these old friends, they were about as thick as your arm and had taken advantage of the space left open by the taken-up railway, then on maps as the "old permanent way" (which is amusing because, so far, I've turned out to be much more permanent).
For some reason, and this strikes me as one of Nature's mistakes, it was their seeds that found the disturbed ground most suitable and a little thicket of them has struggled to grow there ever since.
What I find remarkable about them is that even now they are only about as thick as a leg, which is an important thing to remember about the mature native trees of our district - that there are really only two types: those that are old and those that are nearly ancient.
My old friends in the spinney are Moreton Bay Ash (Corymbia tessallaris); about the prettiest gum tree that grows in these parts. They are characterised by the dark tessellated socks they wear on their trunks, above which their bark is a smooth grey skin, and the merest amateur can have no trouble identifying them. If you are the type of person who would like to know all the local native trees, but doesn't know where to start, I say start with the Moreton Bay Ash and soon you'll find it's not that hard, because there aren't too many types and they all have a way of telling you who they are. Some have a subtle voice, but you’ll do ok.
An enjoyable way to learn is to join the Queensland Plant Identification Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1590103837875621/
It is nice to stamp around at Melon Hut, but if you want to see good examples of the Moreton Bay Ash much closer, the best places are two boskar trees growing near the entrance to the Sportsground (West Bank) and several on the fence-line of the old Mount Crosby school. Those latter ones watched over generations of kids as they high-jumped into the nearby pit, sensibly using the "scissors" technique that pre-dated the landing mattress, and I’m pretty sure they provided the cross bar too - since it was certainly made of a straight sapling suspended between two old valve stems.
I wasn't much of a fan of high-jumping myself, but I once saw an older Brady jump something like four-and-a-half feet (scissors style), which I note would almost have won a medal at the 1896 Olympics.
The Brady’s: Good people. Athletic.