Butchered tree to get best of care and its own guard

The Environment Court has issued orders on exactly how Royal Oak's giant felled pohutukawa must be fed and watered, and it even has its own security guard, but the tree is a sorry, sorry sight.

At least 100 years old and once 11m tall, the tree was attacked with chainsaws last month. It stood near the Royal Oak roundabout in Mt Smart Rd on a vacant lot owned by property developer George Bernard Shaw.

Branches 20m long are now splayed over the ground, the tree's leaves are grey and dying, and its hacked stump is just 1m high.

But the Auckland City Council is determined to save the tree, protected under its district plan, and has employed a security firm to guard the site.

Granting an urgent application from the council to carry out salvage work, Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook agreed that a 24-hour watch was necessary or the tree "may be further harmed".

He allowed the council to take any action to save it, including bandaging partly attached limbs with hessian and sphagnum moss, watering, spreading compost and erecting a protective fence.

A council arborist said pohutukawa were well-known for their ability to regenerate and there was a good chance the tree would sprout new growth.

Auckland City compliance manager Warren Adler said he was pleased the orders had been granted. It meant the tree was still fully protected and any development at the site would have to be done around it.

Neighbours say they heard chainsaws and saw two men hacking at the pohutukawa "in broad daylight" but thought the men "had permission".

An elderly resident of adjoining Royal Oak Court Resthome, who did not want to be named, said she could not imagine how the tree might be revived, "unless they are going to glue it back together".

Mr Shaw has denied any knowledge of the tree attack and expressed shock at the damage.

He was fined $18,000 in 1997 after pleading guilty to destruction of protected trees in Epsom.

Mr Adler said the council was questioning people about the attack.

The penalties

Destroying a protected tree is punishable by a fine of up to $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.

A fine of up to three times the value of any commercial gain derived from the felling of a protected tree can also be imposed.