The Tasmanian tiger was driven to extinction, as was the Tasmanian emu and a myriad of plants — but it is hoped a bold move will save another iconic Tasmanian species, the Morrisby's gum.
The gum was named after John Robert Morrisby, on whose property in Tasmania the tree grew naturally.
"The Morrisby gum, or eucalyptus morrisbyi, is one of the rarest eucalypts in Australia and a few years back, one of the main populations of that species suffered this catastrophic decline," plant sciences lecturer Dr Bec Jones, from the University of Tasmania, said.
Rising temperatures, drying soils and heavy wildlife browsing saw one of the biggest healthy populations of eucalyptus morrisbyi in Tasmania plummet from 2,000 to just six adult trees in seven years.
Scientists and locals were devastated.
"We absolutely did panic, we were really concerned about the species," environmental scientist Dr Magali Wright said.
The adult trees were dying, and new seedlings that did break through drying soils were nibbled by possums.
"The trajectory was looking very frightening, that we were going to lose this species in the wild," Dr Wright said.
It prompted a team response.
"It was probably about 2017 when the partners got together on the recovery efforts and that was really focused on how we could keep this species in the long term," Dr Wright said.
"We had to start thinking about moving it to a more suitable climate."
The Morrisby's Gum Recovery Project, managed by Enviro-dynamics, was created along with a conservation plan, and funding assistance from the federal government and other partners.
The remaining stands of the Morrisby's gums were fenced off.
"We've seen an amazing regeneration just from removing that [animal] browsing pressure, but it's not enough," Dr Wright said.
"If we ever wanted to take it from critically endangered down to endangered, we needed to be able to expand its range."
"A colleague at the University of Tasmania, Peter Harrison used climate modelling to predict areas that eucalyptus morrisbyi could inhabit under climate change," Dr Jones said.
A couple of east coast property owners offered land, including Tom Whitehead, who manages the Okehampton property on Tasmania's east coast.
"The chance of having a mature population here would be great to see in the future and going forward for future generations to enjoy as well," Mr Whitehead said.
A stand of 1,000 young trees was planted on the Okehampton property.
"As a business, we're incredibly passionate about the potential of having an insurance population for this eucalyptus, on the property," Mr Whitehead said.
"It aligns with the values of the business and also some of the other on groundwork that we're trying to do here."
The new stand of the Morrisby's gums is 100 kilometres from their home habitat, but it's hoped the assisted migration will secure the species future.
"I don't want to see eucalypts go extinct under my watch, eucalypts are an iconic species of the Australian bush, and to have a eucalypt go extinct on our doorstep would be a real shame," Dr Jones said.
All eyes will now be on this assisted migration.
"I think it's really positive to actually be putting these kinds of plantings into the ground … because it is really scary when you hear about climate change and how our forests might respond," Dr Jones said.
Whatever happens as climate change continues its forward march, this assisted migration project might just become more common in the future.
"There will be species [of eucalypt] that are quite common now, that might decline under climate change and so what we learned from this species will be able to apply to those other cases," Dr Jones said.