A giant in time stands tall in Umdloti

Few people stop and inspect a beautiful old tree, contemplating what it lived through and “witnessed”.

Even fewer still appreciate their value and the rich history these natural giants collected over the years.

But when next in Umdloti, take a moment to scout out the towering milkwood tree in Newsel Road. It certainly commands respect.

It is estimated to be between 600 and 700 years old.

While its age cannot be confirmed, local ecologist Allister Starke said he would not be surprised if it was indeed this old, adding that short of cutting down the tree it would be difficult to estimate its exact age.

Starke referred the Courier to the Dendrological Society of South Africa, which agreed it would be extremely difficult to estimate the tree’s age as there was a shortage of dendrological studies done on the species.

From surviving the clearing of trees when Umdloti was almost nothing but coastal forest, to surviving further clearing for development, this old milkwood tree has become a recognised beacon among the natural flora and fauna of the coastal town.

Umdloti resident Russell Bonnin recalled digging around the roots of this giant finding wondrous things as a young man.

Bonnin, a lover of both trees and history, has researched this particular tree’s likely history.

“I remember sitting beneath the tree in my 20s, digging through the shell midden at the base and finding arrow heads, shards of pottery and flints,” he said, adding this was long before the roads had been tarred.

Bonnin, now 63, reckons the milkwood would have sprouted when Portuguese mariner and explorer, Bartolomeu Dias, rounded the Cape in 1488.

“It initially had five trunks with an exceptionally large canopy. By the time Dutch navigator Jan van Riebeeck got to the Cape, our local San would have sat under this massive tree eating shellfish.”

He said the tree was an absolute outlier in terms of the average lifespan of a milkwood, the only explanation as to why it was still standing and accounting for its immense girth and vertical stature.

Sadly, the shell midden was lost to time when the road was tarred.

The tree’s girth is about three metres and it stands about 15 metres tall. It continues to dwarf not only other nearby trees, but also homes in some cases.

It has been a home to countless bird species, insects and bee hives over the years.

The milkwood is a protected tree in South Africa.

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