Kerikeri man who poisoned 50 gum trees at Stone Store to appear in court after disputing fine

The Kerikeri man responsible for poisoning 50 gum trees at one of Northland’s most significant heritage sites is to appear in court early next year. Photo / Jenny Ling

The Kerikeri man responsible for poisoning 50 gum trees at one of Northland’s - and New Zealand’s - most significant heritage sites is to appear in court after he disputed the initial fine.

The Department of Conservation initially fined the man – who DoC dubbed “a retired weed-buster” - $800 for poisoning 50 large eucalyptus trees in the Hongi Hika reserve near Kerikeri’s historic Stone Store last year.

Court documents seen by the Northern Advocate show a 68-year-old retired man was posted a reminder notice on August 24 but wrote back to DoC “requesting a hearing in respect of the alleged offence”.

A DoC spokeswoman said the first court hearing was on November 30 and the man was to reappear in Kaikohe District Court on February 29.

“He has not been prosecuted. He was issued an infringement notice which he is seeking to dispute in court,” she said.

The man responsible for poisoning the trees did not want to comment to the Northern Advocate.

The trees are located at Kororipo Heritage Park, which includes the historic Stone Store, Kemp House, Kororipo Pā and Te Ahurea, formerly Rewa’s Village.

The whole area is known as a Tohu Whenua heritage site.

DoC said the poisoning came to light when local residents spotted a man in the reserve drilling holes in tree trunks.

Since then the Hongi Hika Track has been closed to keep walkers safe due to the risk of dead trees toppling in high winds.

After months of meetings and conversations about how to dispose of the dead trees, DoC said they would be removed in March 2024, almost a year after they were found poisoned.

Documents obtained by the Northern Advocate under the Official Information Act show the first discussions about the poisoned trees between local hapū Ngāti Rēhia and DoC began on June 14 last year.

The mass poisoning came to light when local residents spotted a man in the reserve drilling holes in tree trunks. Photo / Jenny Ling

There was another on-site meeting between Ngāti Rēhia and DoC on June 27.

The meetings were followed by emails from DoC to a landscape architect seeking advice on replanting and vegetation management, post-removal of the poisoned gum trees.

There was a meeting between Heritage NZ and DoC on August 3 and on August 8, DoC visited a local firewood contractor and had an on-site meeting to discuss the felling and removal of the trees.

On September 4, DoC staff had another meeting with a local volunteer who offered to donate and help plant and restore the site, post-felling.

“The department did not make any commitments, however, suggested having further discussions after more planning and decisions are made regarding the operation, such as receiving the vegetation management plan from the landscape architect,” the documents said.

More recently, DoC operations manager Bronwyn Bauer-Hunt said: “We can confirm that the work to remove the trees is scheduled to happen in March 2024.”

Bauer-Hunt could not say how much it would cost to remove the trees.

Because the matter was before the courts “we are unable to comment on certain parts of the case”, she said.

DoC earlier described the offender as “a retired weed-buster operating without proper authority and unaware of the consequences associated with his action”.

He “believed his actions were making a contribution to conservation by controlling non-native eucalyptus trees,” DoC spokeswoman Rolien Elliot said.

Elliot said the options available to DoC included a formal warning, an infringement - of which the maximum amount possible for this reserve was $800 - and prosecution.

Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, health, business and animal welfare issues.