One Tree Hill felling to begin tomorrow

1:00 PM

The chain-saws are being sharpened for the pine on Auckland's One Tree Hill.

Work will begin felling the 120-year-old Monterey Pine after a karakia at dawn tomorrow.

After two attacks in the past seven years and recent high winds the tree is tilting heavily to one side, putting pressure on the cables holding it up and creating what the Auckland city council says is a safety hazard.

The tree was to have been removed on Friday or at the weekend, but the danger posed by the pine meant removal has become more urgent.

Auckland city staff will dismantled it in sections, with a helicopter being used to lift the branches from the summit to the base of the hill.

The trunk will be removed piece by piece using a helicopter and crane.

The road to the summit of the Hill has been closed so staff can begin working on the tree.

Auckland Mayor Chris Fletcher says Aucklanders are sentimental about the tree, and it is considered by the entire country as an icon.

She is promising robust consultation to determine what will replace the pine.

The tree is the last survivor of a group of five pines planted during the 1870s after a totara growing on the same site was destroyed, legend has it, by a party of European workmen.

- IRN