Tree felling specialists this morning got under way with a big job on a big tree at Taradale - a job which will take two days and which has drawn nearby residents outside to watch.
The tree is a redwood on a property on the corner of Ngarimu Dr and Church Rd and is believed to be more than 90 years old.
One local man, a 70-year-old, said it was there when he walked to school along Church Rd when he was eight.
"But it wasn't that big then of course."
He said the tree had simply got too large, and said he had seen in the past branches breaking and hanging off.