Birthing Tree of the Dja Dja Wurri people, near Talbot VIC Australia

The Maternity Tree of the Dja Dja Wurrung people near Talbot in Victoria, is one of numerous Birthing Trees in SE Australia. It is a giant River Red Gum, about 700 years old, and 15 metres around (that's 49 feet circumference). Because of its hollowed center, it is also called a Shelter tree. It has sacred and historical significance to the Dja Dja Wurrung people. And racist arsonists recently attacked this tree, burning the hollow area and downing one of its major branches (see comments). But experts say the venerable Tree will survive.

"Thousands of Aboriginal women are believed to have used the Maternity Tree. Dja Dja Wurrung woman Racquel Kerr said she was distressed when she heard about the incident. 'This is something that has provided cultural security, a legacy, to Dja Dja Wurrung people, for generations," she said. "It symbolises the regeneration of life, the continuation of Dja Dja Wurrung people."

"Local Aboriginal leaders say they are grateful they have not lost the tree and want to focus on preserving sacred sites like these. 'It's a remnant of my culture,' Mr Carter said. 'There's so much that's been intruded upon, modified and removed from our landscape. This is such an important connection to the past.'"

700-year-old birthing tree damaged by fire, devastating Dja Dja Wurrung community

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-08/dja-dja-wurrung-birthing-tree-set-on-fire/100359690

Thanks to Chris Sitka.

After the arson attack; the tree is damaged but will survive

In some cases the government itself destroys ancient sacred trees; it did so against sustained protest by the Djab Wurrung people trying to save the tree shown below. It was chopped down to build a highway between Melbourne and Adelaide:

The destruction of a sacred tree on Djab Wurrung country has broken our hearts

"On Monday our biggest nightmare became a cold hard reality. The sounds of chainsaws, excessive police force, the crying of children. We felt defeated as an element of our culturally significant landscape was torn away, taken, gone forever. We are the last generation to ever be in the powerful presence of our Directions tree on Djab Wurrung country.

"It has been 862 days since the establishment of the Djab Wurrung heritage protection embassy to protect sacred women’s country from the Victorian government’s Western Highway duplication project in the state’s western district.

"Country is who we are, country is what guides us and what grounds us in all that we do as First Nations people. This particular 12km stretch, where the expansion of a road between Melbourne and Adelaide is planned, holds a deep intimate connection for Djab Wurrung women, with birthing trees that are more than 800 years old. Thousands of generations of Djab Wurrung babies have been born in this country.

"Over the last two years Djab Wurrung people have risen to protect these trees. Our determination to rise has been fuelled by the deep power our country holds. That power is one that guards our spirit and our soul when coming up against the coloniser.

"We are seeing right now the weakness of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act and other associated legislations and incorporated organisations that are creating tidal waves of pain and loss for our people.

"Aunty Donna Wright: “When Aboriginal corporations are complicit in the desecration and destruction of sacred sites they need to be held accountable. How can we treaty with a government that destroys our sacred sites?”

"Every single person has played a role in getting us to where we are now, giving their blood, sweat and tears. The hours spent in mediation and courts, begging with tears rolling down our faces for an understanding, bodies on the frontline on the hottest days and the coldest nights.

"There is this indescribable feeling that comes with attempting to seek justice and empathy from the very same system that was built to destroy. Destroy it did, and destroying it continues to do."

Another endangered Birthing Tree on the path of the Victoria Western Highway, below:

Carved trees of First Nations Peoples from Western New South Wales 

Another group of sacred trees, carved with beautiful patterns, are found in Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi Country, now called western and central New South Wales. "For thousands of years Aboriginal groups in central NSW marked important ceremonial sites by carving beautiful, ornate designs on the trunks of trees. The carvings, comprising symbolic motifs, intricate swirls, circles and zigzags, were intended to be long-lasting but, instead, only a handful of the trees on which they were carved are still alive today. Settlers cut down many to take into museums. The one below was photographed near Dubbo, NSW. 

At the link above you can download a pdf "Carved Trees: Aboriginal Cultures of western NSW" with lots of pictures. (Warning: the first picture shows settlers cutting trees in 1949.) Often called Burial Trees, though they can mark out other sacred grounds. Shown beloW: Tree at Woodlands Station, near Narromine, western NSW 1925-1944. 

The one below is amazing, from near Bulgandramine NSW.