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CM MURPHY
MEMORIAL FOREST
excerpt from cm Murphys personal notes
“It’s midnight and like clockwork a massive storm has just hit Sugar Beach.  This is not just any storm, it’s a storm that the thunder not only shakes the ground, it rattles the roots of the trees.  Lightening turns night into day.
 
Personally, I love it. My only exception is that I worry for our foals who could become rattled enough to run into a fence.  Thank God we ‘invented’ incredible safety fences for all our horses.
 
The storm. It’s what I love about our Sugar Beach onslaughts.  They go as fast as they arrive.  Apparently, we are 270 kms further out to sea than Sydney.  An incredible statistic I must say.  It is the reason we have whales breaching so close to our shores along with surfing dolphins.
 
To explain further, our house is only a few hundred metres from the actual beach.  The whales, the dolphins and sharks are just one of the ‘David Attenborough’ moments.  There are beautiful sea eagles, wallabies, the most unique birdlife I have ever witnessed, a littoral tropical rainforest - you name it, we see it - goannas, snakes and all sorts of spiders.
 
The point is, I live in nature’s playground.”
tree planting day
On Sunday 24th October the big white gates at Sugar Beach Ranch were swung open again welcoming friends and family to join the Murphy Family to create the CM Murphy Memorial Forest, a beautiful living, breathing legacy, in honour, of CM Murphy.
Following the untimely and sudden passing of Chris “CM” Murphy in January the family requested donations for a memorial forest in lieu of flowers.
Working closely with Reforest Now – over 1400 native trees such as Swamp Mahogany, Paperbark and Umbrella Cheese Trees, once abundant in the area, were planted at Sugar Beach Ranch. Sitting on 60 acres of unspoilt east coast beauty, the ranch is surrounded by native coastal vegetation, blue horizons, and deserted white sandy beaches which Chris would always call “his paradise”.
Initial planting on the one-acre plot commenced on Wednesday 29 September 2021 with a feature fig tree and 16 mature trees. The forest is bordered with 360 Lomandra grasses. Positioned in the most central spot on the property, the trees will be protected from coastal winds and every guest to the Ranch will be able to walk through the CM Murphy Memorial Forest in quiet contemplation to enjoy its beauty.
The forest will be completed with two pathways guests can take to wander through the trees. One with a birdbath and the other a meandering path in the shape of the MMA logo which will eventually showcase plaques highlighting CM’s life and botanical information about the forest species.
On behalf of The Murphy Family, we sincerely wish to express our gratitude again and again for the generous donations to the CM Murphy Memorial Forest. It’s going to be magnificent. Thank you.
ReForest Now was created by an unabated passion to see large-scale reforestation and regeneration of Australian rainforest ecosystems. Our team of scientists, bush regenerators and nurserymen are working with partners and individuals around the world to see immediate and effective restoration of critically endangered rainforest.