Banksia speciosa, it has been by our front gate ever since we built our house and
moved in. Not much left of it now, often native trees and plants are short-lived.
This is actually an old "flower" they hang on for ages until lopped off. They are very popular
with florists who like to include them in dried arrangements as well as fresh.

Specimens of Banksia were first collected by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr Daniel Solander,
naturalists on the Endeavour during Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific Ocean.
Cook landed on Australian soil for the first time on 29 April 1770,
at a place that he later named Botany Bay in recognition of "the great quantity of plants Mr Banks and Dr Solander found in this place".
Over the next seven weeks, Banks and Solander collected thousands of plant specimens,
including the first specimens of a new genus that would later be named Banksia in Banks' honour.