'Beautiful' waterfront pōhutukawa poisoned twice within a year
An “expensive, beautiful” pōhutukawa tree next to a popular waterfront walkway has been poisoned twice in less than a year.
The poisoned tree was one of three 3-metre-high pōhutukawa planted by Tauranga City Council along the harbourfront Beach Rd walkway during streetscaping work in August last year.
A Matua couple, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, said two of the trees had never been touched and were now “standing tall and proud” at about 10m high.
However, they said the third tree was given a large dose of diesel in November last year, and petrol was poured around its trunk earlier this month. The tree has so far survived the poisonings.
The woman said when the tree was first poisoned, her husband was so concerned that he carried buckets of water across the road to pour over it “day and night” for two weeks.
The woman said a council arborist told her husband that it appeared about a gallon (3.78 litres) of diesel had been used to try and kill the tree.
Fortunately, the tree survived after the arborist removed the poisoned soil and replaced it with clean soil, and a “leaf them alone” warning sign was erected, she said.
Now the same tree has been targeted again.
“We are very upset. It’s so disheartening when you have so much love for these beautiful native trees, and the beautification of our district is being abused in this way.
“We regularly see people coming down here to picnic under the trees, and young children running around them with beaming smiles on their faces.”
The pōhutukawa tree on the left has been poisoned twice. Photo / Sandra Conchie
The woman said her husband was an avid conservationist and spent much of his time checking on the health of the trees and talking to them.
“It’s frustrating that someone can get away with vandalising an expensive, beautiful tree. I hope someone with information about the person responsible does come forward to the council.”
The couple said they wanted to thank the council and the arborist for their diligent efforts in helping to keep Beach Rd “looking loved” for residents and visitors.
Wally Potts, the council’s operations and infrastructure acting general manager, said the trees were planted opposite 105 and 109 Beach Rd to improve the area for the community.
He said the total cost of the planting, including site preparation, posts, planting, mulch and associated materials, was $2327.64, of which $1410 was for the trees.
Potts said the new trees replaced previously vandalised trees.
“The earlier damage included suspected poisoning and the removal of branches, which occurred before 2020.”
He said the council made inquiries with nearby residents at the time.
“However, no formal investigation was undertaken, and no further action was taken as there was insufficient evidence to identify those responsible.”
A pōhutukawa tree planted on Beach Rd in Matua has been poisoned twice since November. Photo / Sandra Conchie
Potts said the first of the more recent poisoning incidents happened around November last year and the second was in late July or earlier this month.
“After the November poisoning, we removed contaminated soil, flushed the area with large amounts of water, applied a thick layer of mulch, and installed fencing around the tree to limit access to its base.
“After the second, more significant poisoning incident, we repeated the same treatment, but also extended the fenced area to make access more difficult.”
He said the total cost for both remedial measures was $970.
“[The] council can only take enforcement action if there is evidence identifying the person responsible. At this stage, we have not been able to identify who carried out either incident.”
Potts said if any evidence became available, the council would investigate.
According to the council’s website, people found poisoning protected or public native trees can be fined up to $300,000 or be imprisoned for up to two years.
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