paper-bark tree

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

or Paper-barked Tea-tree


,n.

Called also Milk-wood (q.v.). Name given tothe species Melaleuca leucodendron, Linn. Its bark isimpervious to water.

1842. `Western Australia,' p. 81:

«There is no doubt, from the partial trial which has been madeof it, that the wood of the Melaleuca, or tea-tree,could be rendered very serviceable. It is sometimes known bythe name of the paper-bark tree from the multitudinous layers(some hundreds) of which the bark is composed. These layersare very thin, and are loosely attached to each other, peelingoff like the bark of the English birch. The whole mass of thebark is readily stripped from the tree. It is used by thenatives as a covering for their huts.»

[Compare the New Zealand Thousand-jacket.]

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries of Australia,' vol. i. c. v.p. 106:

«The face of the country was well but not too closely coveredwith specimens of the red and white gum, and paper-bark tree.»

1847. E. W. Landor, `The Bushman; or, Life in a NewCountry,' p. 212:

«Fish and other things are frequently baked in the bark of thepapertree.»

1857. J. Askew, `Voyage to Australia and New Zealand,'p. 433:

«The dead bodies are burnt or buried, though some in NorthAustralia place the corpse in the paper bark of the tea-tree,and deposit it in a hollow tree.»

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

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