The Tea Tree Oil Story

To trace the history of the "healing Tea Trees" we have to start on the North Eastern coastal region of New South Wales, Australia - the only place in the world where the Melaleuca alternifolia tree yields the "real" Tea Tree oil.

We have to travel back centuries, long before Australia was "discovered", and long before scientific evidence began, to a time when Australia belonged to its native inhabitants, the Aborigines.  In particular, the Bundjalong Aborigines inhabited the wetlands around the Bungawalbyn Creek and, according to legend, were well aware of the medicinal qualities of their many "healing trees."  Although not documented, it is widely understood that they treated various wounds and skin infections with an early form of poultice made from crushed leaves and warm mud from along the banks of the creek.  The poultice was excellent for drawing out infection and healing the skin. 

These Aborigines also used the healing waters of the pools in the area which were surrounded by the trees.  Falling leaves and twigs, leached their "magical" healing liquid into the water, turning it a deep yellowish color.  The Aborigines bathed and washed in this natural healing "spa" to treat any number of conditions from sore muscles to serious diseases.  Maybe this is why they named the area "Bungawalbyn" in the first place.  The name means "healing ground." 

The "healing trees" did not become commonly known as "Tea Trees" until around 1770 when Captain Cook, along with a botanist named Joseph Banks and the crew of The Endeavour, used the leaves with their distinctive aroma to brew a spicy and refreshing "tea."  It is most unfortunate that they did not "discover: and publish the unique healing qualities of the "Tea Trees."  But according to the account of that time, they drank the essence in varying concoctions, even alcoholic beverages such as as "Tea Tree beer."

Thus the name "Tea Tree" became popular, especially with the first "white" settlers who colonized the low-lying areas around the Clarence and Richmond Rivers.  From the 17900's on, they watched and learned from the Aborigines how to use the leaves and waters in various inhalations, poultices, and rubbing mediums.  Because these first settlers rarely had medical or botanical backgrounds, there was no real "scientific" evidence recording the healing qualities of the Tea Trees.  The European community was very skeptical of these "anecdotal stories."  It could not have helped that the Aborigines were often thought of as primitives from an uncivilized world.  In the words of the settlers, "They didn't want to work or better themselves...they were always disobedient and lazy."  Thus the healing remedies, along with the Aboriginal way of life, were treated with contempt.

As new settlers arrives, they struggled to clear the harsh native vegetation to make way for settlements and dairy farms.  They cursed every Tea Tree for its hardy and persistent hold on its own natural habitat.  The Tea Trees tenaciously survived drought, fire, flood, and even frost, and resisted any attempt to destroy them.  Fortunately for the rest of the world, the only way they could have been eradicated was by the physical removal or every part of the tree, including the extensive root system.

It is ironic that while the settlers battled to destroy the Tea Trees, they were only too willing to use the healing leaves for poultices and inhalations to stem infection and disease.

It is to our loss that the Tea Tree, although used as an effective "bush remedy" by subsequent generations of farmers, did not reach our attention until the early 1930's.  It was not even mentioned in the British Pharmaceutical Codex until 1949, where it was listed as "Oleum Melaleuca."

In Australia it was not until the early 1920's that Arthur de Ramon Penfold, FCS, Chief Chemist at the Museum of Applied Technology, Arts and Sciences in Sydney, extracted the oil of the Melaleuac alternifolia and announced that "yes indeed!" it did have antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties.  The accepted anti-bacterial agent at that time was cabolic acid (known as phenol).  Imagine the stir it must have caused when it was determined that "an old Aboriginal remedy" was up to 13 times stronger!  and was non-toxic and non-irritating - unlike carbolic acid!

When the results were finally published in 1925, there was great enthusiasm among doctors of the time and "Penfold's discovery" was immediately put to the test.

In 1930 the Medical Journal of Australia published an article, "A New Australian Germicide," by Dr. E.M. Humphrey.  It stated "that what he found most encouraging was the way that the oil from the crushed leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia dissolved pus and left wounds and surrounding areas clean."  He tested and enthused about this great substance, highlighting Tea Tree oil as never before.

He noticed "that the germicidal action became more effective in the presence of living tissue and organic matter, without any apparent damage to healthy cells"....

He suggested "that it would be particularly good for applying to dirty wounds caused in street accidents."....

He also found "most encouraging the results on nail infections.  Particularly those infections that had resisted various treatments for month which now were cured in less than a week!"...

"The pus solvent properties of Tea Tree oil made it an excellent application for the fungal nail disease paronychia, which if left untreated could result in the deformity and even loss of the nail."...

He urged the dental industry to "take seriously the antiseptic properties for infections of the gum and mouth."...

He noted that "just two drops of Tea Tree oil in a tumbler of warm water made it a soothing and therapeutic gargle for sore throats in the early stages."...

He wrote that "it would probably be effective for most of the infections of the naso-pharynx."...

That is "was an immediate deodorizing medium on foul-smelling wounds and pus-filled abscesses."...

And, "if it was added to hand soap it would make the soap up to sixty times more effective against Typhoid bacilli than the so-called 'disinfectant soaps' of the day."...

He felt "that if an ointment could be made from the oil it would help to eradicate several parasitic skin diseases."...

He concluded "that it was a rare occurrence because most effective germicides actually destroyed healthy living tissue along with the bacteria."...

The Scientific and Medical worlds were intrigued.  More research was funded and articles began appearing in additional publications such as the Australian Journal of Pharmacy and the Australian Journal of Dentistry.  World-wide appetites were whetted.  Articles were presented and published in the Journal of the National Medical Association (USA) and the British Medical Journal.

As the reputation of Tea Tree oil Spread, there was a great deal of anecdotal evidence about its effectiveness in a wide range of topical applications, both medical and veterinary.  From diabetic gangrene in man to diseases of poultry and fish, it was recognized as a safe, effective, non-toxic, non-irritating, antiseptic disinfectant.

If Penfold was the "Founding Father," Humphrety was certainly the "Metaphorical Mother."  His enthusiastic writings opened up a multitude of medical and practical uses for Tea Tree oil.  Others have tried, tested, and approved of its healing properties, but thanks to Penfold and Humphrey the world would no longer be denied the miraculous healing powers of the Aborigine "healing tree," the Tea Tree - Melaleuca alternifolia.