Wind rips giant branch from park tree

High winds have torn a branch weighing more than a tonne from a tree at Stella Bull Park in Greytown.

Helen McNaught, South Wairarapa District Council property facilities officer, said the branch was sent crashing to the ground some time in the past two days and had been only partially ripped from the 25m-tall robinia pseudoacacia or Black Locust tree.

The branch had fallen at a right angle across a commemorative park bench near the foot of the tree, she said, and it was a "good thing no one was on the seat at the time".

Mrs McNaught said the council contracts an arborist to tend to the "historic and special" trees in Greytown, which on July 3, 1890, became the first town in New Zealand to celebrate Arbor Day.

Smaller branches from other trees were strewn throughout the park and the arborist told Mrs McNaught large fallen branches would be chainsawed and removed in the next few days.

Mrs McNaught said the large toppled branch was reported to the council yesterday morning by a Greytown resident who walks through the park.

MetService forecaster Peter Knudsen said gales had been intermittent in the region since Tuesday, when a peak gust of more than 60km/h had been recorded at Masterton.

A peak gust of 85km/h was posted on the Rimutaka Summit about noon on Tuesday and a gust of 106km/h was recorded at the same site on Wednesday.

About 3am yesterday morning a peak gust of 126km/h was posted on the Rimutaka Summit, he said, and gales were gusting up to 70km/h in Masterton yesterday afternoon.

Mr Knudsen said high winds were expected to die away overnight and would clear this morning.

Mrs McNaught said there had been no other reports of windblown branches in Featherston or Martinborough this week.

"I expected it to be far worse. The wind has certainly been pretty strong."