The Big Axe
Height
Unknown
Year Built
Address
Longley, TAS 7150
The Lowdown
The Big Axe stands in Longley, a small town in the Huon Valley south of Hobart, paying tribute to the timber getters who built Tasmania's early colonial economy. This oversized axe commemorates the hard-working loggers who felled the giant Huon pines, stringybarks, and eucalypts that covered southern Tasmania. The Huon Valley's rich soils and reliable rainfall produced some of the world's finest timber, and the axe was the essential tool that transformed these ancient forests into the ships, buildings, and furniture that built a colony. The Big Axe preserves the memory of this pioneering industry.
Did you know?
"Tasmania's timber industry once employed thousands of workers"
History
The Huon Valley has been synonymous with timber since the earliest days of European settlement. The region's namesake, the Huon Pine, is one of the world's oldest living organisms and slowest-growing trees, with some individuals over 2,000 years old. Early loggers felled these ancient trees with hand axes before cross-cut saws became available. The Big Axe commemorates this era when the sound of axes echoed through Tasmania's forests, transforming the landscape and building a young colony. Today, remaining Huon Pine forests are protected.
More Fun Facts
- •Huon Pine can live for over 2,000 years
- •A single Huon Pine tree can take 500 years to reach harvestable size
- •Tasmania's timber industry once employed thousands of workers
- •The Huon Valley was named after French explorer Huon de Kermadec
- •Hand axes were the primary tool until two-man saws arrived in the 1850s
Visiting Tips
- 💡Explore the Tahune Airwalk to see the forests the timber getters worked in
- 💡The Huon Valley produces excellent apples and cider
- 💡Nearby Geeveston was known as the 'Town Built on Timber'
- 💡Combine with a drive down to Cockle Creek, Australia's southernmost road
Opening Hours
Outdoor sculpture accessible at all times.
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Big Lizzie
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