A yellow ribbon, along with notices asking vandals to leave the tree alone, have been tied to the pin oak tree on the corner of Maraetotara Road and Robert Lane. Photo: Troy Baker / LDR
A 48-year-old oak tree on Maraetotara Road in Ōhope is the latest victim of tree poisoning in the Whakatāne district.
The pin oak tree, on Whakatāne District Council road reserve land, on the corner of Robert Lane, has been repeatedly attacked over the past week - to the dismay of the neighbouring community.
Robert Brosnahan, who planted the tree when he and his wife, Rineke, came to live on the property, is confounded as to what the poisoner's motive might be.
"If it was blocking access or causing a problem for someone, you could understand what was going on, but there seems to be no reason for it," he said. "[The tree] is of great personal interest to my wife and myself and someone is trying to poison it. We think there has been about three attempts."
Brosnahan has done his best to mitigate the damage to the tree, removing any traces of the poison, which he describes as diesel with an unknown white powder mixed in with it.
A neighbouring landowner, Paul Hendricks, said they had been told by an arborist that it would not be apparent until spring whether the tree would survive.
He said the damage was first discovered on Monday last week, with diesel poured around the lower trunk and scoring of the bark. Renewed attacks over the weekend saw someone drilling a hole into it and filling it with diesel.
The neighbourhood has rallied around, upset at the attack on the tree. On Monday this week, it was sporting a yellow ribbon and signs warning off the poisoners and asking whoever the culprit was to stop. As well as the ribbon, one of the signs on the tree says, "Stop trying to poison this oak tree, scumbags. We are now watching."
Another is titled, "Your community oak tree," and says, "Please hug me. I am hurt. I am 48 years old. Someone is trying to poison me. I love you all. I've done no harm. I'll be your shelter forever."
Hendricks said another concern was that the diesel would leach into the Maraetotara Stream, causing pollution to that waterway. He said the tree was a popular resting place for the many trampers and cyclists that used the road.
"A lot of people sit under it and have their morning tea," he said.
Brosnahan said Robert Lane was just part of his farm paddock when he planted the tree.
"We planted it in what I thought was our paddock and then we found out that there was a paper road there. I said to council engineer John Tailby at the time, 'look we've got a situation where it's in the middle of the paper road'.
"He said, 'It'll be fine there.' So, technically, it's a council tree."
Whakatāne District Council open spaces manager Ian Molony said tree poisoning was becoming a concerning trend for the district.
"In this case, the culprits have poisoned the tree twice in one week, drilling holes into the trunk and administering poison to the tree."
The pin oak tree, on Whakatāne District Council road reserve land, on the corner of Robert Lane, has been repeatedly attacked over the past week. Photo: Troy Baker / LDR
He said the repercussions of this behaviour on the community were far reaching.
"Vandals who think it's okay to behave this way are not environmentally or community minded. These trees are community assets. They're part of our landscape and part of our history. Once they're gone, we don't get them back so please think twice before considering anything like this."
Another landowner on Robert Lane, Jahn Ozgur, said he had experienced repeated vandalism of his property and would be increasing security camera footage on his land and on the bridge on Robert Lane that crossed the Maraetotara Stream.
He purchased his two-hectare property in 2019 and built a transportable bungalow; he has plans to build more in preparation for creating a cancer recovery retreat on the land.
He has had difficulties gaining consent for his planned buildings, and his consent application is before the Environment Court. He had also had one of his neighbour's trespassed from his property due to ongoing conflicts around his development and water drainage across his property.
He said he had experienced poultry and a pet rabbit disappearing from their cages and chickens left dead on his doorstep. The bungalow had been broken into three times. Water lines have been cut causing him thousands of dollars in water bills and gas canisters for the water heating system that was tampered with.
Ozgur said cellphone signal coverage on Robert Lane at the time of the vandalism had not been sufficient for him to monitor the area through CCTV camera, but recent improvements meant he was now able to keep an eye on his property.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.