Trees
Ironwood
jujabalaErythrophleum chlorostachys (syn. E. laboucherii)
Jujabala is the 'ironwood tree'[1]. On the Bloomfield River, 'ironwood' meant the Cooktown ironwood, Erythrophleum chlorostachys, a tree of the dry open forest with extremely hard, heavy wood[2][3]. Kuku Yalanji made hunting spear-throwers and fire-hardened spear points from it, and cooked a strong cement out of the sticky covering of its roots[2][4]. That root 'juice' also hardened the beeswax called yikari[1]. Its bark and leaves were a fish poison[2], and its leaves are deadly to cattle and horses[5].
Hann River Cape York
Possum People's country on the upper river and Thaypan (Kuku Thaypan) country downstream: stringybark and bloodwood woodland and a spring-fed sandy river that runs north-east from the Great Dividing Range, past the Peninsula Developmental Road, into Rinyirru (Lakefield) and the North Kennedy. Not Kuku Yalanji country: the Kuku Yalanji words on this page are the dictionary's, not the Hann's own languages. Place guide
Cooktown ironwood is a tree of the Hann country: the Atlas of Living Australia holds 50 records of Erythrophleum chlorostachys, and 4 of its relative E. pubescens, from 1970 to 2026 around the middle Hann[12]. Kuku Thaypan Elders call it Ku Morteall (also written Ku morteal), and it is one of the parent trees of their mixed-tree country[13]. It is a stock poison in a country of cattle stations[5][14].
Where it grows here
The Kuku Thaypan Elders' mixed-tree country 'contains parent trees of Ku argnamageel Bloodwood Corymbia sp., Ku morteal Erythrophleum chloroystachys Cooktown ironwood, with a mid-storey of Ku chuada (Njora) Cocky apple Planchonia careya, Ku andeal Grevillia glauca Bushmans clothes pegs and cabbage palm and it is found on slightly elevated light sandy soil'[13]. Ironwood also grows scattered through the Darwin stringybark and bloodwood woodland on sandstone[13]. The Atlas holds 54 Erythrophleum records from a box of about 90 × 85 km around the middle Hann, Laura and western Rinyirru[12].
Its year here
Ironwood is 'brevi-deciduous losing its leaves in dry winters'[13]. Mixed-tree country 'generally would be burnt later in the year being one of the last systems to burn in the Elders' TCFK' (traditional cultural fire knowledge)[13].
How people used it here
Kuku Thaypan Elders. 'The leaves are used in warming/smoking ceremony across Cape York that welcomes people to country so that ancestors know that the person is welcomed by the mob', and in smoking 'for cleansing places and objects' after a death[13]. Ironwood is one of the trees important to sugarbag (native bees): Dr George Musgrave showed Victor Steffensen an old Ku Morteall with 'multiple scars made from multiple harvest entry points made by stone tommy hawk over a number of years'[13]. See native bees. The timber is 'known by Europeans to have a hard timber and was used as fence posts due to its termite resistance'[13].
Laura and the Palmer, c. 1900. Roth saw ironwood root cement in use on the Laura and Palmer rivers; the Koko-minni of the middle Palmer called the tree ariga and its cement tchal-nga[4]. The method is in the general section above.
Princess Charlotte Bay and its rivers, c. 1900. 'At Princess Charlotte Bay, and along the rivers flowing into it', the fish-hook was 'a tapering pencil of hard wood, usually Erythrophleum Laboucherii', with a bone barb bound on with kangaroo-tail tendon and Grevillea gum[15]. E. laboucherii is the old name of this tree. See hooks and lines.
Stock here
The middle and lower Hann include Musgrave and Mary Valley stations[14]. Ironwood leaves and young shoots kill cattle and horses, mostly in the dry season when pasture is poor and the trees put out fresh shoots[5].
On country today
The upper Hann is the Possum People's country and the middle and lower Hann are Thaypan country, both determined on 2 November 2023; taking the natural resources of the area is among the rights recognised[16][14]. Scarred trees are cultural heritage[10].
Upper Mitchell Western Yalanji
Western Yalanji country west of the Great Dividing Range: dry open woodland cut by the sandy, paperbark-lined upper Mitchell River, around Karma Waters and Mount Carbine. Place guide
Ironwood grows around the upper Mitchell but is patchy: none within 30 km of the Karma Waters homestead, 39 records within 60 km[17].
Where it grows here
Around Karma Waters: The Atlas of Living Australia has no ironwood records within 30 km of the homestead. Within 60 km it holds 39 records of E. chlorostachys. The nearest is a Queensland WildNet record about 35 km south-west, near Nychum. There are herbarium specimens from Mount Mulligan (1936) and from Whites Creek on the Peninsula Development Road, in open forest about 43 km north (1990)[17]. So ironwood grows around the upper Mitchell but is patchy. Learn to recognise it before turning stock into a new paddock (see Safety).
On country today
The Western Yalanji determinations recognise rights to take and use natural resources around the Palmer and Mitchell rivers[18].
Eastern coast Eastern Kuku Yalanji
Eastern Kuku Yalanji country: rainforest, beaches, mangroves, reef and the short steep rivers from the Daintree to the Bloomfield and the Annan.
On the Bloomfield, ironwood was the spear-thrower tree, and its root cement the best glue to hand[2].
Spear-throwers here
Hunters used a plain lath spear-thrower of E. chlorostachys, linear or oval in outline, 0.9–1 m long and 60–90 mm wide, usually without a shell grip[2]. There are many scarred trees around the Bloomfield where wood for them was cut out[2].
On country today
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bloomfield men still covered the bindings of wire-pronged fish spears with some mix of ironwood resin, car-battery 'tar', 'Araldite' or asphalt[2]. Old ironwood trees with spear-thrower blanks cut out of them are records of past use[2].
Everywhere
Names
Jujabala is 'ironwood tree'[1]. Its bark is also burned to control thunderstorms, the dictionary notes. Anderson's Bloomfield account names 'Cooktown ironwood' as Erythrophleum chlorostachys[2]. Roth used the older name E. laboucherii[4], which is now a synonym[6]. Several unrelated hardwoods are called 'ironwood' in English, so the botanical name matters. The match between the word and the tree rests on the ethnographers' usage and on the root gum (see Uses).
Description
E. chlorostachys is a tree of the pea family. Its trunk is often short, and its dead bark is 'hard and horny to cut'. The wood is 'extremely hard and heavy', with a specific gravity of about 1.22, so it sinks in water[3]. Each leaf is divided into leaflets 3–5.5 cm long with lopsided bases. The small flowers grow in spikes, and the flat pods, 25–40 mm wide, hold seeds about 10 mm across[3]. The tree is semi-deciduous, shedding leaves in the dry winter, and the timber resists termites[6].
Where it grows
Cooktown ironwood grows only in Australia, from north-east Queensland across Cape York Peninsula and the Northern Territory to the Kimberley. It is mainly a tree of open forest but also grows in monsoon forest and on rainforest edges, from sea level to 500 m[3][6]. Roth saw ironwood cement in use on the Endeavour, Laura and Palmer rivers and on the Gulf coast between the Mitchell and Staaten rivers[4]. On the middle Palmer, Koko-minni people made spear-throwers and hut bark from it[7][8].
Uses
Spear-throwers. Roth describes the ironwood spear-thrower of Cape Bedford, the Endeavour and Bloomfield rivers and Butcher's Hill. It had a long blade of even width and a short peg of Petalostigma tied on with tendon and covered with cement[7]. See Spear and woomera.
Spear points. For wooden-pointed spears, Cooktown ironwood sometimes replaced black palm as the point and foreshaft, and was fire-hardened after sharpening. Turtle-harpoon points were usually Acacia crassicarpa but sometimes ironwood[2].
Cement. The sticky covering of ironwood roots made a strong black cement[4][2]. Anderson's consultants rated it above grass-tree gum: 'readily available and of good quality'[2]. It fixed stingray barbs and spear prongs over their sinew bindings[2]. Its weakness was 'its liability to crack', and on spear-throwers a Grevillea cement was preferred where it could be had, 'as it lasts better'[4][7]. The dictionary's yikari is 'hardened beeswax, hardened with ironwood root juice. The juice is extracted by heating and is used to make spears'[1]. That joins this tree to the wax of native bees.
Fish poison. In the inland areas in the late dry, the bark and leaves were smashed together under water in drying waterholes to stun fish[2]. See fish-poison plants and fish poisoning.
Other tools. The smoothing board for spreading hot cement, used on the Bloomfield, Palmer and Mitchell rivers, was a flat piece of ironwood or similar wood[4]. Across North Queensland, women's digging sticks were cut from ironwood 'where generally available'. On the Bloomfield the digging stick was tchu-al in Roth's spelling, the dictionary's juwal[4][1]. No source here records ironwood clubs among Kuku Yalanji.
Medicine (neighbours, not Kuku Yalanji). On the Pennefather River, far to the north, the outer bark was soaked in water for some hours. The liquid was rubbed into spear wounds, or over the whole body for general sickness[9].
How it was done
Ironwood root cement, Bloomfield River. Roth's account came from R. Hislop[4], and Anderson recorded it at Wujal Wujal[2].
- Choose a tree, 'the younger the better'.
- Test first. Rub a firestick on an exposed root so that some of the sticky covering melts off. Try it between your closed teeth. If it is sticky there, the gum is good.
- Clear the soil from the underground roots and cut off pieces of a handy length.
- Strip off the sticky outer covering with a bark strip pulled steadily upwards, or scrape it off. Gather it onto the end of a stick.
- Roast it lightly over the fire.
- Pound it between two stones greased with cassowary fat so that it does not stick.
- Roast and pound again, and keep alternating until it is soft. Let it cool and harden for storage.
- To use it, warm it and spread it over the binding with a greased wooden smoothing board.
A spear-thrower blank. Cut a lath from the trunk, which leaves a scar like those still seen around the Bloomfield. Shape it to 0.9–1 m long and 60–90 mm wide[2]. Fig leaves were used to smooth the blade[7] (see Fig).
Safety
Stock poison. Cooktown ironwood is 'well known as a stock poison'. It has killed cattle, horses, sheep, donkeys, goats and camels[3]. A Northern Territory resource puts the lethal dose at less than 100 g for a horse or a cow. Poisonings usually happen in the dry season, when pasture is poor and the tree is putting out fresh shoots. The young leaves and sucker growth are the most toxic. Sick animals show severe abdominal pain, sunken eyes, laboured breathing and sometimes bloody scours, and usually die within 24–48 hours. There is no consistently successful treatment, so keep stock away from ironwood country at risky times[5].
People. The timber can cause dermatitis, and splinters can turn septic. Rainwater collected under the trees can be fouled by fallen leaves[3]. A waterhole poisoned for fish was unusable until a storm and flood renewed it[2]. Don't drink from water where bark or leaves have been pounded.
On Country today
Old ironwood trees with cuts and scars in them are records of past use. Everyone in Queensland has a duty of care not to harm Aboriginal cultural heritage[10]. Under s 211 of the Native Title Act 1993, native title holders can hunt, fish and gather for personal, domestic and communal needs without licences[11]. The place sections above say which determination covers which country.
Language
jujabala 'ironwood tree'; yikari 'hardened beeswax, hardened with ironwood root juice'; jila 'beeswax'; nyumbirr 'wax made by bees'; balur 'spear thrower'; juwal 'yam or digging stick'; julnji 'tar from a tree used to make spears'[1].
The sources disagree about yikari. The dictionary makes it a beeswax hardened with ironwood root juice[1]. Roth wrote that the resin of Canarium muelleri was 'known to the Bloomfield River natives as yikari' and was 'largely traded and bartered'[4]. Both records are kept here. Speakers can say whether the word covers both prepared cements. Anderson's word for the ironwood spear-thrower, milbayarr[2], is not a spear-thrower headword in the dictionary; there the spear-thrower is balur[1]. Neighbouring names: Guugu Yimithirr gam-bar, the cement named after the tree, at Cooktown; Koko-minni ariga for the tree and tchal-nga for its cement, on the middle Palmer[4].
Images
References
- Hershberger, H. D. & Hershberger, R. (1982). Kuku-Yalanji Dictionary. Work Papers of SIL-AAB, Series B, Volume 7. With Toby Bloomfield, Roy Friday, Billy Roberts, Hector and Doris Sykes, Joe Walker and others. www.sil.org/resources/archives/18038
- Anderson, C. (1996). Traditional material culture of the Kuku-Yalanji of Bloomfield River, North Queensland. Records of the South Australian Museum 29(1): 63–83. Based on fieldwork at Wujal Wujal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. — Hunting (spears, spear-throwers, harpoons); fishing (stupefacients); manufacturing (gums and resins); post-contact bush component archive.org/details/RecordsSouthAus29Sout
- Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (RFK8), Erythrophleum chlorostachys (Cooktown ironwood). CSIRO / Lucidcentral. apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/erythrophleum_chlorostachys.htm
- Roth, W. E. (1904). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 7: Domestic implements, arts, and manufactures. Brisbane: Government Printer. — Sect. 13 cements ('Erythrophloeum laboucherii', 'Canarium muelleri'); sect. 16 smoothing-board; sect. 39 digging-sticks archive.org/details/northqueensland00landgoog
- FutureBeef (Queensland, NT and WA agriculture departments and MLA). Poisonous trees and shrubs: Cooktown ironwood. futurebeef.com.au/resources/poisonous-trees-and-shrubs/
- Wikipedia, 'Erythrophleum chlorostachys' (synonyms E. laboucheri, Laboucheria chlorostachya) (accessed 6 October 2026). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythrophleum_chlorostachys
- Roth, W. E. (1909). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 13: Fighting weapons. Records of the Australian Museum 7(4). — Sects. 10–11 spear-throwers (middle Palmer; Cape Bedford, Endeavour and Bloomfield rivers, Butcher's Hill) archive.org/details/biostor-52873
- Roth, W. E. (1910). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 16: Huts and shelters. Records of the Australian Museum 8(1): 55–66. — Middle Palmer huts (ironwood bark) archive.org/details/records-australian-museum-8-055-066
- Roth, W. E. (1903). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 5: Superstition, magic, and medicine. Brisbane: Government Printer. — Medicine, 'Erythrophloeum laboucherii' (Pennefather River) archive.org/details/northqueensland00landgoog
- Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (Qld), s 23 (cultural heritage duty of care). www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2003-079
- Australian Law Reform Commission (2014). Review of the Native Title Act 1993, Discussion Paper 82, ch. 8: Relevant provisions in the Native Title Act (s 211, preservation of native title hunting, fishing, gathering and cultural activities). www.alrc.gov.au/publication/review-of-the-native-title-act-1993-dp-82/8-the-nature-and-content-of-native-title/relevant-provisions-in-the-native-title-act/
- Atlas of Living Australia. Occurrence records of Erythrophleum (54 records, 1970–2026: E. chlorostachys 50, E. pubescens 4) in a box of about 90 × 85 km around the middle Hann River, Laura and western Rinyirru (lat −15.6 to −14.8, long 143.5 to 144.3), queried 28 October 2026. biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?q=genus%3AErythrophleum&fq=decimalLatitude%3A%5B-15.6%20TO%20-14.8%5D&fq=decimalLongitude%3A%5B143.5%20TO%20144.3%5D
- Standley, P.-M. (2019). The importance of campfires to effective conservation. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Records the fire and country knowledge of Kuku Thaypan Elders Dr Tommy George and Dr George Musgrave. researchonline.jcu.edu.au/64274/
- Ross on behalf of the Cape York United #1 Claim Group v State of Queensland (No 20) (Thaypan determination) [2023] FCA 1315 (Federal Court of Australia, 2 November 2023). — Determination area and waters; prescribed body corporate (Awu-Laya Indigenous Corporation); affidavit evidence on hunting www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2023/2023fca1315
- Roth, W. E. (1901). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 3: Food — its search, capture, and preparation. Brisbane: Government Printer. Bloomfield River information from R. Hislop. — Fish-hooks of Princess Charlotte Bay and its rivers archive.org/details/northqueensland00landgoog
- Ross on behalf of the Cape York United #1 Claim Group v State of Queensland (No 21) (Possum determination) [2023] FCA 1316 (Federal Court of Australia, 2 November 2023). — Determination area (upper Hann and Kennedy rivers); prescribed body corporate; affidavit evidence on hunting and fishing www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2023/2023fca1316
- Atlas of Living Australia. Occurrence records of Erythrophleum within 30 km and 60 km of the Karma Waters homestead (16.618° S, 144.605° E), queried 6 October 2026 (none within 30 km; 42 within 60 km, 39 of them E. chlorostachys). biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?q=genus%3AErythrophleum&lat=-16.6179&lon=144.6047&radius=60
- Brady on behalf of the Western Yalanji People #4 v State of Queensland [2013] FCA 958 (Logan J, 24 September 2013), consent determinations of native title over lands in and around the Palmer and Mitchell River systems north-west of Mt Carbine. www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2013/2013fca0958
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