This is the second reference I have found to the history of Canberra's Willow trees having originated from cuttings taken from St. Helena (info) by an early Canberra settler with a connection to Napoleon. The first reference I came upon claimed the Willow cuttings originated from a tree near the Frenchman's grave.

As this article suggests, exotic trees have been being planted in the Canberra region since at least 1835 and those trees were used as the propagation stock for subsequent generations of plantings.


Interestingly today most Willows are viewed as noxious weeds in Canberra's waterways and as such this last generation of possible "Napoleon's willows" will probably be permanently removed from the Molonglo...




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