{"id":608889,"date":"2026-09-23T05:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T05:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/608889\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T05:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T05:28:13","slug":"only-a-stump-remains-of-twice-vandalised-tree-in-ohope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/608889\/","title":{"rendered":"Only a stump remains of twice vandalised tree in \u014chope"},"content":{"rendered":"

A ragged stump, bleeding sap is all that remains after an illegal attempt to remove a Norfolk pine from reserve land on Ocean Rd, \u014chope.<\/p>\n

By Diane McCarthy of Local Democracy Reporting<\/p>\n

Neighbours say the tree had its branches removed in an overnight act of vandalism recently.<\/p>\n

It is the second time the tree has been vandalised. It was left severely stunted eight years ago after partying youths damaged it by swinging on the branches.<\/p>\n

The branches had since regrown, before being hit again.<\/p>\n

Whakat\u0101ne District Council open spaces operations team leader Paul Camburn said the council was aware of the damage to the tree and disappointed to see this kind of behaviour in a public reserve.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamage to any tree on reserve land, including vandalism, removal, attempted removal and poisoning, is illegal. Those found guilty could face prosecution and a fine of up to $20,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said although the top of the tree had been snapped off previously, it had still been alive and healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil does not remove healthy trees,\u201d Camburn said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The vandalised Norfolk pine on Ocean Rd reserve land has been left without branches and bleeding sap (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

An outcry on social media about the tree had seen accusations flying.<\/p>\n

Two neighbours spoken to by Local Democracy Reporting said they did not know who damaged the tree and were critical of the mess the amateur arborist left behind.<\/p>\n

The residents, who did not wish to be named due to fear of repercussions, said the act of vandalism had been carried out overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI woke up and it was like this,\u201d said one neighbour. The other had been overseas at the time.<\/p>\n

The branches and a ringbarked 2.5 metre stump have been left at the site, seeping sap, and nearby residents had been filling their greenwaste bins with the detritus in an attempt to tidy the area up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought the council would have come and done it by now,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The neighbours said they hoped the council would remove the whole tree permanently this time, rather than leave it to regrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what they should have done the first time it was vandalised,\u201d a local said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The tree as it looked before the latest vandalism (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

The neighbours said they would not be sad to see the bushy tree gone, as campers and other beach goers often urinated there.<\/p>\n

However, they said Norfolk pines are difficult to kill and could still survive.<\/p>\n

Norfolk pines have been a prominent feature of the \u014chope landscape since the early-to-mid 20th century.<\/p>\n

This tall, hardy, wind and salt tolerant conifer, native to Norfolk Island, was a popular choice around that time for creating shelter.<\/p>\n

Other Norfolk Pines in the area had their lower branches pruned regularly to allow service vehicles, including tractor mowers, to access the reserve for maintenance works.<\/p>\n

The council had no information to indicate why the tree may have been targeted at this stage. It relies on reports from staff and members of the public.<\/p>\n

Camburn said incidents can be difficult to investigate without further information or evidence.<\/p>\n

“Members of the community are encouraged to report any suspicious activity to council as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A ragged stump, bleeding sap is all that remains after an illegal attempt to remove a Norfolk pine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[273,111,139,69,213,1756],"class_list":["post-608889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-environment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports","tag-tauranga-bay-of-plenty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}