Holes drilled in four iconic pohutukawa at the Whakatane Heads have left council staff in no doubt the trees have been deliberately poisoned.
Whakatane District Council arborist Malcolm Lowe discovered the drill holes on Thursday while he was working nearby and said the selfish actions of the person involved had extremely disappointed him.
"The trees are over 60 years old and were planted around 1940 when the reserve was established to commemorate 100 years of nationhood," Mr Lowe said.
"The fact they have been deliberately poisoned is a tragedy."
Long-time Muriwai Dr resident Bob Byrne agrees.
"I have lived on Muriwai Drive for 43 years and watched those trees grow. I am appalled to hear they have been poisoned and wonder what satisfaction anyone could get from killing them?"
Mr Byrne, a former Whakatane mayor and parks and reserves chairman, believes the trees were planted well before 1940.
"I had a paper run when I was six and I remember sitting under those trees then - and I'm gunning for 100 now."
Mr Byrne's partner Gaye Murphy, who has also chaired the council's parks and reserves committee, said the trees provided a frame for the view out to sea and, without them, the land would be flat and boring.
"I too, am appalled," Ms Murphy said.
Mr Lowe said he had checked the trees about six to eight months ago as two of the four were suffering from a fungal hardwood disease but there had been no holes in them at the time.
The largest of the four trees sits at the centre of a barked area that houses a popular children's playground and has, up until now, provided shade for the youngsters.
Mr Lowe said a management plan for the pohutukawa that line the bank of the Whakatane River out to the river mouth, had been implemented by the council about 12 years ago.
"In consultation with Muriwai Drive residents, whose homes look out over the trees to the sea, we removed four or five trees and set up a management regime that included topping and canopy reduction to maintain a balance between the remaining trees on the reserve without compromising views," Mr Lowe said.
"The bottom branches have been heavily pruned so the homeowners have vistas of the ocean."
But, he said, maybe this was not enough.
Another council worker, who did not wish to be named, said he had heard reports of people sneaking over to the pohutukawa at night and "doing their thing".
"Often when trees are poisoned for whatever reason, the culprit digs into the root system and drills holes in the roots but whoever has done this has drilled blatant holes at the base of the trunks."
Mr Lowe said there was little hope of saving the pohutukawa as a lot of the branches had already died.
Council director of works and services Hadyn Read, said when trees are considered a safety risk they are removed and, where possible, replaced with a similar species.
"In this instance we will endeavour to find transplantable Pohutukawa trees to ensure their continued presence in the reserve for their historical significance."
The council is asking the public to report any suspicious activity. Anyone caught tampering with the trees could be fined up to $500 and ordered to pay reparation.
Pohutukawa poisoning shocks Whakatane
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