The swearing chemist of Geeveston, Tasmania

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This wooden carving is of William John Trevaskis, a much-loved former chemist in Geeveston, Tasmania. He apparently had a colourful vocabulary and was known as the ‘swearing chemist of Geeveston’. He dispensed advice and prescriptions for 51 years. His other claim to fame was fitting 20 people in his 1926 Packard car, known as the ‘grey ghost’, to transport them to various social occasions. He was also known for his violin-playing. King Billy pine was used for the carving by Bernie Tarr. King Billy pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides) is endemic to Tasmania but also does well in Scotland where it gets the necessary rainfall for good growth. The name is believed to be a reference to Tasmanian aborigine William Lanne. It is not a true pine. It grows to 20 o 30 metres with a 1.5m diameter trunk. The tree is now protected from logging and its continued existence is classed as ‘vulnerable’.