Tree house stoush may not be over

A sly tree hut, constructed in a wilding pine at Arawata Terrace, in Queenstown, pictured last month. Photo / Paul Taylor

The Queenstown tree house stoush may not be over yet.

Queenstown landowner Peter Clark took a chainsaw to a fir holding the tree house of an "Aussie bludger", bringing it crashing down on Saturday.

The tree house was built without permission two months ago by a young Australian carpenter, who had been living there.

Peter Clark, with his grandson Archer, chopped down the tree. Photo / Otago Daily Times

Now the carpenter says he will simply build another one.

The chippy, an Australian named Andy Marshall, told Fairfax: "My mates and I are just gonna go there and build another one".

The 23-year-old had not lived in the tree house for three weeks after he broke a collarbone that left him unable to climb in.

He said of the felling: "It sucks because it took so much effort."

Clark had earlier expressed satisfaction at cutting the tree house down.

"There was lots of stuff inside: an air rifle, fresh eggs, butter, other food, a gas cooker, couch, chilly bins, obviously lots of beer ... and condoms. I'm not sure how many girlfriends he's had up there."

Clark took some of the items home for safe-keeping and said Andy could come around and collect them.

The rest hit the ground.

"Wouldn't it be great to have seen the look on his face when he came back? It was very satisfying.

"Let that be a lesson to these people that just come here and use us and abuse us, like the freedom campers."

Marshall said he picked up some of his possessions today.

He said he thought the tree house was on Department of Conservation land.