My parents bought a 5 acre block of land on the outskirts of Murray Bridge at the end of 1984 and wanted to plant a row of native trees along the northern boundary to provide a wind break, a visual barrier from our neighbours, and a haven for birds and other wildlife.
These first two photos were taken (we think) some time in 1986 when we planted the trees. The photos aren’t great quality – they were taken on a cheap “instamatic” style camera using Fuji 126 cartridge film. The resulting negatives are 28mm square which proved too large for my film scanner or 35mm film strip holders – so I had to rig up a dodgey scanning mechanism using the medium-format film holder on my flatbed. Seemed to work okay – some of the other photos I scanned actually turned out quite well – although the colours are not great.
![Planting Trees - 1986](https://www.simonhampel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/198600a_-_murray_bridge_-_07-500x425.jpg)
This first photo shows the family working together to dig holes and plant the trees (I took the photo – but I was helping too!). This photo is taken looking south towards our property (I’m standing on our neighbour’s land).
![Planting Trees - 1986](https://www.simonhampel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/198600a_-_murray_bridge_-_12-500x498.jpg)
The results after we had finished – three rows of trees, a total of nearly 50 plants. I took this photo looking east along the boundary (I’m standing near the north western corner of the property). The scrub you see in the background is on the property too – the new trees should serve to link these trees to those along the western boundary and beyond.
![The trees we planted 20 years ago](https://www.simonhampel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/100_5070-500x377.jpg)
20+ years later, the trees are doing really well – not all survived, and there is quite a variation in height amongst the trees – but many have done really well and are now quite tall. This photo is taken looking north near the middle of the property. Mum took the photo for me yesterday – so it is up to date !!
![The trees we planted 20 years ago](https://www.simonhampel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/100_5073-500x377.jpg)
Another shot from Mum yesterday, looking north-west towards the spot that I was standing when I took those first two photos!
Leave a Reply