Derby’s Boab Prison Tree, Estimated to be over 1,500 years old.Located just a short detour off the main highway near Derby.
The Boab Prison Tree is an ancient, hollow boab with a dark colonial past. In the late 19th century, it was used by police as a temporary holding site for Aboriginal people who had been captured, often in chains, before being forced to walk long distances to Derby for sentencing or to work on stations.
The tree became a grim symbol of this era of Aboriginal dispossession, forced labour, and colonial control. Today, it stands not only as a natural wonder but also as a place of remembrance, reminding visitors of both the resilience of the tree and the painful history tied to it.