If trees could talk: the Derby Prison Boab Tree and the punitive landscape of northwest Western Australia

Recent research on the colonial dark history of Australia has prompted a closer look at punitive built and natural features in the landscape. The Derby Prison Boab Tree, located near the Western Australian township of Derby, is an example of such a feature. It is distinguished by a large central cavity within which Aboriginal prisoners are said to have been incarcerated in the early years of colonial settlement in the Kimberley. It is visited by tens of thousands of tourists each year. However, its role as a prison has recently been disputed by several historians. Despite this reappraisal, other historians and some senior members of the Nyikina community maintain that the tree was used as a prison. Here we discuss the Indigenous and historical significance of the Derby Prison Boab Tree, the contested reading of its history, and its continuing role as a symbol of the colonial punitive landscape.