The over 100-year-old tree is worked on by arborists on Wednesday morning. Photo / Jack Riddell
The over 100-year-old tree is worked on by arborists on Wednesday morning. Photo / Jack Riddell
A Havelock North tree planted over a century ago in front of a church dropped large branches on to a seating area under it on Wednesday morning.
There was a gentle northwesterly zephyr blowing through the large oak in front of St Luke’s Anglican Church at the time of thefall at 9am, according to MetService.
No one was sitting on the benches, and arborists were called to inspect the tree and remove the branches.
Vicar of the church, Reverend John Matthews, said as custodians of the tree they were responsible for caring for it.
Reverend John Matthews, the vicar at St Luke's Church in Havelock North. Photo / Jack Riddell
“As Anglicans, one of our marks is mission of care of creation,” Matthews said.
“But that also means identifying when something isn’t in the right place.”
Matthews said the noble tree was originally from the Northern Hemisphere genus of oak trees and had grown exponentially in Hawke’s Bay’s climate.
“That means that we have a particular balance to strike between wellbeing for everybody who lives around it and also looking after the tree until it comes to the end of its natural life.
Because of the Hawke’s Bay weather patterns the tree had adapted to, there was always some risk the oak could drop boughs, Matthews said.
“And there is nothing you can do about it – you cannot mitigate against it.”
Work would be taken to get the tree into good shape to minimise the risk to the public.
Matthews said ancient noble trees, like the large gum across the road from the church in Havelock North Village Green, hold a particular resonance in people’s minds and memories.
“We want to honour that, but we also have to put the welfare of the people that live under it as also one of our priorities.”
Arborists work on the fallen branches in front of St Luke's Church in Havelock North. Photo / Jack Riddell
Craig Clark from EcoTree Car Hawke’s Bay said the best way to avoid noble tree branches falling was through pruning, weight reduction, and regular inspections from a qualified arborist.
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.
