Order to dismantle hut but no sign of builder

Glenn Raymond, pictured last April with the island tree hut he has since been ordered to dismantle. Photo / Philip Chandler

A former Queenstown resident who built a tree hut on a willow island in Lake Wakatipu has been ordered to take it down - but appears to have left for Australia.

Glenn Raymond built the hut early last year so he could enjoy ''good old-fashioned fun'', he told Mountain Scene at the time.

''I'm just a boy building a tree house out in an island having fun - what a lot of people would like do.''

Land Information NZ told him he would need a licence to legally occupy Crown land.

Mr Raymond had argued the island was not land, but tree mass, and also tagged the tree hut as a mai mai, but nevertheless lodged an application.

Last August he was informed the Commissioner of Crown Lands had declined his application.

''The site is a likely nesting site for a protected bird and there are safety concerns that have been raised by the Queenstown Lakes District Council harbourmaster,'' Queenstown's Linz agent, Rose Quirk, wrote.

''Linz and (the) Department of Conservation are also concerned about the degradation the hut would cause to the scenic values of the site for other recreational users, and potential waste management issues.''

Mr Raymond was ordered to remove the hut within two and a-half weeks- though he was also given the right to apply for a rehearing.

Acting Commissioner of Crown Lands Craig Harris then wrote to Mr Raymond on October 2, advising him he had not been authorised to use or occupy the land, and warning him to leave the land and remove all structures within two weeks.

The tree hut remains, however, and it is understood Mr Raymond moved to Australia a few months ago. He could not be contacted yesterday - his New Zealand cellphone was out of service.

- Mountain Scene