These were a bonus of being in the right place at the right time . I was touring the N.E Victorian Alps with another member from Ausbonsai Forum who wanted to see the area’s i collect from . 
With absolutely no tools on board apart from our camera’s i ran into the Resort Flora Management crew and inquired about collecting some pines in the area over Winter . I was informed that all introduced species would be eradicated within months and if i wanted to collect them now was the best time .
Out of season i’m a little reluctant but armed with the knowledge they would not be there in the coming months , we decided its now or never .
These were a few of the specimens we could find amongst the carnage of what was some spectacular trial plots prior to the area being declared National Park .
A couple of years ago i pre trimmed around 80 of these and had full intentions of returning last Winter to dig them .I missed the boat due to ill health but made the most of this opportunity and salvaged 10 of the 12 left .There may be more it will require a closer look.
Time was not on our side as a road closure within hours of given permission meant an over night stay so it was swift and precise collection in 1 hour and then off we set homeward bound .
We have potted these into the smallest pots to fit the root mass so they stand a very good chance of surviving . 
The trunks are extremely rare for collected material here in Australia 
as they were only introduced into these plots in the 1940’s. 
I plan to make 1 more trip back to collect a few various species of pine before they too are eradicated . 
These will be allowed to recover for 2 seasons and then maybe an initial work over to start them off as basic trainers .
Many thanks to Chris for all his help and for the fantastic time we had . No doubt we will be doing this again very soon .
Cheers Alpineart
