Half the trees outside the courthouse have been chopped down. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Half the trees outside the courthouse have been chopped down. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Mystery surrounds the removal of several trees outside the Whanganui courthouse.
Three of the six London plane trees outside the courthouse, on the corner of Market Pl and Bates St, were recently removed. However, tall stumps remain in the ground.
Local botanist Colin Ogle said he was dismayed to seethe trees had been taken out.
"But just as worrying as the loss of the trees is the fact that each was well cared for in its own plot with neat brickwork, just the sort of surrounds that should have ensured the trees' survival for 100 years," he said.
Inquiries about the trees by the Wanganui Chronicle to the WDC and Ministry of Justice proved fruitless.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said the land was only rented by the department and was owned by the Pakaitore Trust, which was responsible for the trees.
Trust spokesman Ken Mair could not be reached, and another trust member, Jenny Tamakehu, declined to comment and referred the Chronicle back to Mr Mair.
