January, 1939 The Queensland Naturalist 9 
In Australia the Bunya pine is not nearly so widely 
distributed as is the hoop pine, which extends from the 
Northern Rivers district of New South Wales right up 
through coastal Queensland to New Guinea, The bunya 
is limited to the rain-forests of south-eastern Queensland, 
from the Bunya Mountains and Blackbutt Range in the 
south, to the Burnett river in the north. Its western 
limit is the Bunya Mountains, and its eastern boundary 
the Blackall Range. The timber of the Bunya is of equal 
market value to hoop pine from which, in the milled state, 
it is indistinguishable both in appearance and properties. 
The Bunya and hoop pines supply a coniferous soft wood 
which, for internal work and for strength, cannot be well 
matched elsewhere in the world. 
The botanical features of the Bunya may be obtained 
in any standard work on the botany of Queensland, but a 
short account of the uses made of the fruits by the 
aboriginal inhabitants is of interest. 
The main crop of seed on the Bunya occurs every 
third year, the cones taking three years to develop to 
maturity on the parent tree. Odd cones are found on 
many trees in the years between the main crops, but these 
are few in comparison with the triennial crop. The cones 
to the timber-getters are known as pods, and are borne 
on the topmost branches of the trees, and may number a 
score or more on a large tree. They are nine and twelve 
inches long by six to eight inches in diameter. The seeds 
are large and weigh on the average thirty to the pound. 
They have a thin cartilaginous shell, and contain an 
abundance of starch. There is some variation in the 
appearance of the seeds from some trees. The usual form 
is conical, with a creamy white shell; another common 
form is almost round, with a pointed end, and of a 
brownish colour. The latter type are smaller than the 
more common elongate form. 
The Bunya nut formed an irresistable attraction to 
the aboriginals in the fruiting season, which occurs be- 
tween December and March. 
It would appear that the Bunya trees in any par- 
ticular tribal district would belong to the tribe in that 
locality. Some people say that the trees were handed 
down from father to son as heirlooms, and that only the 
man who owned the trees had the right to climb them. 
On the other hand, Mrs. Campbell-Praed in “Australian 
Life, Black and White, ” states that “the fiercest fights 
arise between the assembled tribes in the preliminary 
.apportionment to each before the season begins ,’ ’ but that 
