Rātānui third in national tree competition

Rātānui is the oldest known rātā tree in the world. Photo / Bevan Conley

A Whanganui tree has placed third in New Zealand's first Rākau o te tau / Tree of the Year Aotearoa competition.

Rātānui is among the tallest rātā in the world, standing at 36.2m in Tarapuruhi Bushy Park, the 89 hectare forest sanctuary north of Whanganui.

Tarapuruhi Bushy Park educator Keith Beautrais said the tree had become a symbol of conservation for Bushy Park.

The Whanganui rātā received 1486 votes, which was more than double that of the fourth-placed tree, a pear tree in Kerikeri which received 702 votes.

First was the Sacred Pōhutukawa Tangi Te Korowhiti in Kāwhia with 1736 votes, and in second place was Kilbryde Pōhutukawa in Auckland with 1530 votes.

New Zealand Arboriculture Association executive officer Nicki van Asch said the level of public engagement for this year's competition exceeded expectations.

"We were taking baby steps for this first year just to get the competition started, but it's amazing how passionate people are about their trees and the stories that go with them," van Asch said.

The competition received over 6000 "unique" votes, she said, with around 1000 people voting twice.

"We loved the fact that people were so enthusiastic they felt the urge to vote a few times."

They had to extract the multiple votes, which van Asch said changed the winner from a Pōhutukawa in Auckland to a Pōhutakawa in Kāwhia.

Arborist and competition founder, Rimu Tane, said the first year had established the groundwork for next year's expanded competition.

"Next year we'll open up open up the competition so that our communities can nominate their own special trees," Tane said.

"Trees play such a formative role in our lives, we want people, families and communities to start thinking about these trees and their future."

There are 1697 trees in the NZ tree register, 15 of which are in Whanganui.

Tree of the Year is now open for nominations for 2023, and van Asch said she was looking forward to having more nominations this year with a wider regional spread across the country.

"It's what it's all about. The public and the trees and the stories they have," she said.