Thank you for your vote
You Did It! Colonel Light’s Tree Takes the Crown
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR VOTES
Thanks to your votes, we’re thrilled to share that Colonel Light’s Tree has officially won the 20 Metre Trees Competition, making it the 2025 Trees South Australian Tree of the Year.
If this is the first time you are hearing about this, there is a short video here.
It's an incredible story and certainly a significant one, historically.
All the details:
We are beyond grateful to everyone who supported this special piece of Barossa history—it truly means the world to us.
This majestic gum, believed to be around 700 years old, caught the eye of Colonel William Light back in 1837 when he sketched it during his first survey of the Barossa Valley.
The valley reminded him of when he fought in the battle of Barrosa in 1811 and named the valley in its honour. Today this world famous valley is known as the Barossa Valley - the tree is that significant.
In a serendipitous moment, Reuben Batten and I recently uncovered a photograph from the 1980s, before our Cellar Door was renovated, and the hill line in the image matched Colonel Light’s original sketch perfectly. A spine tingling confirmation of history standing still.
Today we were featured on the front page of The Leader Newspaper who were amazing in helping us to spread the word about this incredible story.
But this isn’t the end of the story.
We would be ever so grateful if you would sign the petition to protect the tree. Click here for the petition...
