One Tree Hill pine theft charge dropped

Arborists remove part of the One Tree Hill tree from a house in Otahuhu, after the tree was seized as stolen property. Photo / Dean Purcell

The man who allegedly tried to sell the Monterey pine that stood on Auckland's One Tree Hill for more than a century will not be charged.

Police swooped on an Otahuhu property last month after a huge section of the tree had been advertised on Trade Me.

A 26-year-old man was questioned but this week police confirmed he would not be charged.

"Council and local iwi are now in discussion regarding what will happen to the remains of the tree," a spokeswoman said.

When the base section of the 125-year-old tree was seized, the online auction sat at $55 but it had since been removed from the site.

The sale caught the attention of an arborist contractor whose Auckland property the remains of the tree were allegedly taken from.

An Auckland Council spokesman said when the contractor became aware of the auction they contacted police who seized it for return to the contractor's yard - more than 15 years after the tree was felled.

The spokesman said the remains were "in a poor state with rot and mould" and that "Auckland Council will be in discussion with the Tupuna Maunga o Tamaki Makaurau Authority as to the circumstances of the remains' removal and future care."

At the time, the man at the centre of the allegations - an arborist - said he had been charged with theft by a person in a special relationship and that he had tried to donate the tree base to the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

He could not be reached for comment today but posted on Facebook the day after the incident "Hahaha... on the news again."