The Magic Inside

The line I didn’t want to stand in

The Magic Inside began at Disneyland. My brother and I wanted rides and speed, but Mom and Dad led us to the Enchanted Tiki Room with bright yellow Pineapple Whips in our hands. Outside, I ran between the tiki figures reading every plaque. Inside, the lights dimmed and the room came alive with singing birds, dancing flowers and ancient gods. That childhood wonder stayed with me.

Three meters of trunk

Years later, a cypress tree died in our Bendigo yard. I stopped the arborist from removing the final three meters because I could already see Tāne Mahuta—the Māori god of the forest—inside it. I studied, practiced and worked with chainsaws, grinders and chisels until the guardian emerged. Ned watched from the grass, Rusty inspected like a foreman and the neighbor’s cat remained unimpressed.

When Tāne was finished, even the neighbors who thought I had lost my mind came to look. He was rough around the edges, but magnificent to me. He was no longer simply a carving; he guarded the garden.

Twelve pieces and a ute

Moving to Brisbane meant moving him too. We cut Tāne into four massive sections and stored him at my parents’ home in Melbourne while Sharna and I rented. When we finally bought our home, those pieces were divided again into twelve. We loaded the disassembled god into the ute and drove north.

Sharna and I carried him up the side of the house one section a day. On the final day, I balanced the last piece on a ladder and lifted with everything I had. ‘Push!’ I shouted. Sharna was already underneath pushing just as hard. Somehow we got it into place. I spent another week sealing, sanding and staining until the separate pieces became Tāne Mahuta again.

The one who watched from the grass

This work also carried us through losing Ned, who had watched the original carving take shape. Rebuilding Tāne could not repair that grief, but it gave us the next piece, seam and day to face. Then butcher birds moved into the garden. Rusty and Ginger watched their daily displays while Sharna and I looked across at Tāne standing among everything growing around him.

Then the garden answered

The Magic Inside is the story of a childhood spark that survived long enough to become real—and of refusing to leave wonder, grief or creation behind in pieces.