Opinion:
Some of the good people of Upper Anzac Parade in Whanganui East are unhappy about nearby trees and what they shed throughout the seasons.
A large section of the riverbank in the area near the old milk treatment plant has been planted in that renowned Australian pest, the wattle. Fast-growing and invasive, these trees are now doing what they do best: sending seeds all over the nearby properties and shedding pollen far and near.
A local resident has been on to the Whanganui District Council about this and he was informed that the trees are wild, self-sown, "we had nothing to do with it". That's interesting, he says, because he saw the trees being deliberately planted some years ago by official-looking people with shovels. The council still denied culpability and suggested it was Horizons Regional Council in its efforts to shore up the riverbank and prevent erosion.
That may be so, says our informant, but why would they plant an exotic tree, when they could be planting natives? And why would they choose one that could inflict such discomfort on nearby dwellers? He says the pollen plays havoc with people with respiratory problems and the seeds give off the most unpleasant odour when crushed and wet. The latter is common knowledge among those of us who knew the seeds as "stinkbombs" and their stench as a distinctive "rotten egg" smell.