Tree of a nation: Eucalypts are the scent, shape and shade of the Australian bush

摘要

MY MOTHER was a naive 23-year-old when she brought me into the world in the 19605. She had limited testing during pregnancy, birth plans were yet to be invented and she knew little of what to expect during the delivery. After the frenzied late-night dash to the hospital, my father left her labouring in stirrups in the company of stern midwives: there was certainly no question of him being present for the birth. In-vitro fertilisation (IVT) was still a storm brewing in a test tube, the average familyconsisted of three children and, as in my mother's case, a woman's child-bearing was largely complete by the time she reached 30.