“I don’t know who it was, or who would do that to the community. To me, it was just a silly thing to do which it was senseless actually. What was the point of it?
“Other members of our community had put so much time and effort into decorating it for the community. To pull it all down was just something I couldn’t fathom.”
Featherston’s recycled tree was loved by most community members. Photo / Supplied.
Featherston resident John Dennison is a member of Worn Cloth Collective, the local craft group that dedicated roughly 300 hours to constructing the tree from salvaged materials, including safety netting.
They configured the dynamic structure to withstand the town’s infamously breezy conditions, but didn’t expect it would have to stand up to a more targeted effort to bring it down.
“We designed it, to be wind-permeable, with an internal structure and pendants that would blow in the wind. We started putting it together in October, and everybody lent a hand. It was very well received. I think everybody loved it.”
Joanna Baldwin, who manages the Featherston Community Centre, said the collective was an important part of the town’s tight-knit community.
“They’re an amazing group, so it’s sad. It’s quite a lot of work they put in, so it’s quite frustrating to see this happen.”
The sustainable Christmas tree in Featherston after it was destroyed. Photo /Supplied
Dennison says a couple of days before the felling, the recycled tree suffered some minor damage and empty alcohol cans were found littered around the structure.
“I think someone’s landed themselves on Santa’s naughty list over this.”
Dennison said the experience had been disheartening, and having had the wind knocked out of them, the group weren’t sure if they would replace the tree next year.
“We’re still a little bit sad at the moment. You don’t really want to be putting it up and finding that it’s been damaged again.”
Wilde said if anyone in the Featherston community knew who was behind the defacement, “it would be great if they could at the minimum get an apology from the culprits”.