The Aporia · 'Messy but beautiful' tree among nine vying for Victoria's annual gong

'Messy but beautiful' tree among nine vying for Victoria's annual gong

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

McGuinness, A. (2026, September 21). 'Messy but beautiful' tree among nine vying for Victoria's annual gong. ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/victorian-tree-of-the-year-2026-finalists-maldon-bunya/107177952

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Nine trees are competing for the title of Victorian Tree of the Year in a National Trust contest; among them is Kathy Whiteman’s bunya pine in Maldon, which she calls both messy and beautiful due to its large fruit that can drop unexpectedly. The public voting period begins today and runs until late October when the winner will be announced. Each finalist represents significant historical or environmental value, with experts emphasizing their irreplaceability and need for protection.

Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Nine trees have been selected as finalists for the 2026 National Trust Victorian Tree of the Year competition, which began in 2016 to raise awareness and advocate for tree protection. Among them is a bunya pine owned by Kathy Whiteman in Maldon, which she calls a "magnificent" landmark despite its messy nature due to dropping large cones every three years. Another finalist includes an Indian Bean Tree at the Castlemaine Botanica. Additionally, a Canary Island Pine planted by Jacob Bernstein in Ballarat in 1867 is also among the finalists, known for its longevity and significant cultural value. The trees are listed on the National Trust's Significant Tree Register, which recognizes up to 10,000 important trees across Victoria. Voting opened recently and the winner will be announced in late October.

Written for “Victoria Tree Of The Year” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Gums, gingkos and a golden wych elm: voting for Victoria’s tree of the year Same event

The Guardian

Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

68/100

ABC News (AU)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Environment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 4457 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Anna McGuinness

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🔮 Voting in the competition opens today and the winner will be announced in late October.

2026-09-21 · assertive framing · 'Messy but beautiful' tree among nine vying for Victoria's annual gong

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 7 articles by Anna McGuinness →

Topics

Maldon National Trust Victorian the National Trust Victoria the National Trust Victoria's Significant Tree Register

Subjects

Maldon GPE · 3× National Trust ORG · 2× Whiteman PERSON · 2× Ballarat GPE · 1× Justin Buckley PERSON · 1× Kathy Whiteman's PERSON · 1× Victoria GPE · 1× Victorian NORP · 1× the National Trust Victoria ORG · 1× the National Trust Victoria's Significant Tree Register ORG · 1×

Narrative

"In our view they're really irreplaceable, especially some of these trees in urban areas where you would just never get the chance to plant a tree of that size again," Mr Buckley said. "

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22

🔮 Voting in the competition opens today and the winner will be announced in late October.

2026-09-22 · ABC News (AU)

'Messy but beautiful' tree among nine vying for Victoria's annual gong · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

A woman whose bunya pine is a finalist says her tree is a landmark in her street. asserted

tree → say → street

Voting in the competition opens today and the winner will be announced in late October. asserted

winner → open → October

The owner of a central Victorian home with a Victorian Tree of the Year finalist says it is a "magnificent" landmark. asserted

it → say → finalist

"I say to people, 'When you see the big tree, that's my house,'" Ms Whiteman said. asserted

Whiteman → say → tree

However it is a complicated relationship between the home owner and the tree, which fruits every three years and drops massive cones. asserted

which → fruit → cones

"The ones I've had weigh between 5 kilograms and 7 kilograms. asserted

I → have → kilograms

You can hear them dropping down through the branches and then, bang, as it hits the ground," she said. asserted

she → hear → ground

"I have to wire the front gate shut when it's fruiting season and not go underneath it. asserted

it → have → it

It could kill you to have one drop on your head. uncertain

It → kill → head

Members of the public nominated trees on the National Trust Victoria's Significant Tree Register, and they were then whittled down by an expert committee. asserted

they → nominate → committee

The winner will be decided by a public vote, which opens from 9am today for one month. asserted

which → decide → month

"Trees really need our protection," Justin Buckley, executive manager of gardens and landscapes at the National Trust Victoria, said. asserted

Buckley → need → Victoria

"We want to raise awareness that a lot of care has gone into a tree over 100 years. asserted

lot → want → years

"In our view they're really irreplaceable, especially some of these trees in urban areas where you would just never get the chance to plant a tree of that size again," Mr Buckley said. " asserted

Buckley → get → size

We're hoping people think of the trees and what's best for them as they're doing works to buildings and roads around them." asserted

they → hop → them

Ms Whiteman did not nominate her tree but said she would be happy to see it win and help to ensure its protection, while also bringing more people to Maldon to see it. asserted

it → nominate → it

"Maldon's a lovely town and I've got a lovely tree," she said. asserted

she → get → tree