Alternative NamePomona Tree FuneralAdditional InformationThe Pomona “Tree Funeral” was an event organised by the Cooloola Region Forests and Parks Association as part of the community activities to protest the Queensland Forestry Departments clearing of trees in Yurol Forest and other areas around Noosa Shire.
The event was held on Sunday 24 October 1982. Members of the CRFPA and other conservation groups, recreational clubs, shire councillors and citizens met at the junction of the Pomona-Cooroy Road and Porters Road (halfway between Pomona and the Bruce Highway) at 2 pm to watch Bill Hollis load a fallen tree onto his bullock wagon using skids and pioneer methods. The tree was draped in black and carted back to Pomona, followed by the ‘mourners’. The ‘funeral’ was intended as an expression of the grief felt by the destruction of native forests.
On arrival in Pomona, a short ceremony was held while the tree ‘lay in state’. Immediately following there was a barbecue and two films were screened in the park opposite the Majestic Theatre. Transportation was arranged to return people to their cars at Porters Road.
Two weeks later, on Saturday 6 November, the Association held a theatre-restaurant night at the Pomona School of Arts Memorial Hall as part of the ongoing protest activities. The night’s entertainment was to include “theatre and film, dancing and music, eating and drinking”.
SOURCE: Cooloola Region Forests and Parks Association Newsletter October 1982 Date24 October 1982
