At the end of an unsealed road in a remote corner of south-west Victoria stands one of the world's most diverse native Australian landscapes.
But the arboretum's volunteers fear that for all intents and purposes, the stretch of forest is a treasure trove "forgotten" to all but those who live near its border.
The Peter Francis Points Arboretum is the pride of the tiny town of Coleraine, about four hours west of Melbourne near the South Australian border.
The arboretum stands across 35 acres of varying western district soil types and features more than 10,000 documented Australian native trees and shrubs.
The arboretum has been carefully cultivated over more than 50 years and features several threatened species in need of constant nurturing.
But some Coleraine residents are concerned it isn't being managed properly.
Howard Templeton, president of the volunteer group that runs the "living museum", said the collection had been neglected.
"The last time there was an audit done was nearly 30 years ago," Mr Templeton said.
"Most of the trees are still there … but none of that's been catalogued."
From mine site to museum
The idea for the arboretum was born when locals wanted to improve the sight of the shire's old quarry.
The denuded hill on the outskirts of Coleraine covered almost 40 hectares and had been stripped of gravel and loam for road-making and then used as the local tip.
The shire teamed its engineer Joe Wright with local plant enthusiast Mary Hope and a group of dedicated volunteers and in 1966, the arboretum was created.
Retired bridge builder Peter Francis joined with fellow botanic lovers to collect seeds from across Australia to turn the once barren wasteland into a thing of beauty.
In 1997, control of the arboretum was handed over to the state government due to an increasing amount of work required to maintain the site.
However volunteers fear not enough is being done.
"Under Parks [Victoria] you're not really allowed to do anything at all," Mr Templeton said.
"You are no more than a 'Friends group' and you're really not allowed to do much, there's too much bureaucracy involved."
Parks Victoria area chief ranger Darren Shiell said he understood the importance of the arboretum, but didn't answer questions about when the park's last audit was done.
"As the land manager Parks Victoria does fire prevention work, hazardous tree removal, safety inspections of the playground and maintenance of visitor facilities at the reserve," Mr Shiell said.
The ABC understands there is no annual financial arrangement between Parks Victoria and the Peter Francis Points Arboretum committee.
The government met several times last year, however progress since has been slow, according to Mr Templeton.
He said talks were continuing about a lease arrangements for the arboretum.
Mr Templeton said he believed the arboretum would have been treated differently if it was closer to Melbourne.
"But we're out of sight and out of mind and its pretty easy for the government to ignore us," he said.
"All that Parks [Victoria] does is come through and have a bit of a clean-up every now and then, and if there is a tree they think is dangerous they take it down."
