Sarah Konoski

This episode of Conversations was produced by Alice Moldovan and recorded on the lands of the Gadigal peoples.

Our executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

I'm Sarah Konoski.

Thanks for listening.

You've been listening to a podcast of Conversations with Sarah Konoski.

For more Conversations interviews, head to the website abc.net.au slash conversations.

If you're listening to this in Australia, the chances are, wherever you are, that you're not too far from a gum tree.

Eucalyptus are found in the streets of all our cities and towns, on the top of mountain ranges, in ancient rainforests.

They're scattered across outback farms and grow along the shores of the ocean.

For many Australians, the sight of gum trees and the distinctive smell of their leaves, the blue haze they give off on hot days, this is a big part of what makes this place feel like it does.

Stephen Hopper has devoted much of his life to studying eucalyptus, and his career ended up taking him to the world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, where he was director for six years.

But Steve left the Royal Botanic Gardens to come home to West Australia because he wanted to learn from the real experts when it came to eucalyptus, Aboriginal people.

And that began what Steve now calls the second part of his education.

Steve's new book, the culmination of his lifelong obsession with gum trees, is simply called Eucalyptus.

Hi, Steve.

As I say, Albany is home for you now.

So can you see eucalyptus trees from your office window?

And that blue haze, you know, that the Blue Mountains is famously named for, does that appear in your part of Australia?

Yeah.

What about the gum trees inside, you know, the ones that get made into furniture?