Hastings Boys' high school's century-old oak was felled by Scott Brocklehurst, of Superior Exterior Tree Care, yesterday. Photo / Paul Taylor
Hastings Boys' high school's century-old oak was felled by Scott Brocklehurst, of Superior Exterior Tree Care, yesterday. Photo / Paul Taylor
As one life ends, another begins in the saga of the oak tree at Hastings Boys' High School.
The 100-year-old oak, which became a landmark at the school, fell in a chorus of chainsaws yesterday.
This 100-year-old oak fell to a chorus of chainsaws
It had been a concern for many years after part of it fell away, andwhat was left began leaning to one side.
On the advice of an arborist, principal Robert Sturch made the final call to have it cut down and keep some of the wood to make furniture for the school.
Since Hawke's Bay Today ran a story on Monday, Mr Sturch had received a replacement offer from Tree Guys Nurseries in Otane.
The tree has now been chopped.
Nursery owner Jack Ritchie said he used to live in Hastings and as he was in the business of trees, felt there was something he could do to fill the gap left by one grand old oak.
He and wife Kath offered a 4m red oak to take its place, which they hoped would last another 100 years or more.
"Hopefully, we might have better luck with the health of this tree - in New Zealand it's hard to say [how long it will last] but with a lot of trees, poor planting kills them early," he said.
"It can shorten the tree's life by quite a bit, we will advise them how to plant it."
Mr Sturch said he would more than likely take up the offer from Tree Guys Nurseries, and recalled some of the oak's historic moments, including a visit from the Queen in 1964.
Mr Ritchie suspected careless planting might have been the downfall of the last landmark.
"We are hot on doing things right, because at the end of the day it starts from the roots up," he said.
Old boys of the school had dropped by to farewell the old oak before it was removed.
