Dendrochronology

As well as the usual string of north-westerly storms damaging trees and tumbling branches to the ground, the summer of 1987-88 was noted for the frequency of its thunderstorms.  During one of these storms a very large redwood was split asunder.  It was obvious the tree was a danger and would have to be felled.  When the fellers counted the rings they realised it was one of McCardle’s original plantings of 1878.  Councillor John McDonald was keen to utilise the timber from the tree within the park but found it was not very useful for construction work.  He persuaded the council to erect a shelter over the stump, with shingles cut from redwood, with the walls on the shelter – called a dendrochronology from the Greek words for tree (dendron) time (chronos) and study (ology) –covered with information on the park and district’s history.  The shelter was built in 1991.