Robyn Edie/Stuff
A large pine tree on the south side of the Queens Park duck pond fell across the path and into the pond at lunchtime on Wednesday. Crews there cleaning it up on Thursday.
A massive tree has crashed into Invercargill’s Queen’s Park duck pond, which has been closed as a safety measure.
In its descent the tree also crossed a popular walking path.
It is the latest in a series of fallen trees at the park, which is already undergoing a staged felling-and-replanting programme as many of its older specimens approach the end of their natural lives.
Extremely high winds and very wet weather during the past few days had led to the latest collapse, the council says in a Facebook post.
Supplied
The section that broke away from the pine’s root ball.
“We believe due to the ground being extremely wet and soft, the root ball of the tree has unexpectedly been destabilised.’’
The pond area has been closed off and the council is asking the public to keep away from it.
About half a dozen nearby trees, all to the south of the pond, will also be removed in coming days.
Robyn Edie/Stuff
The tree’s mid-section crosses a walking path.
Hundreds of the park’s trees are marked for staged removal for a combination of age-related problems and airport flight-path safety rules. Many of them are 100 to 120 years old.
The replacement programme was initiated after a tree in November 2018 crashed on to mercifully empty parked cars in Victoria Ave, by the park’s southern entrance.
On July 27, the Queens Drive entrance to the park was closed after a tree that had been dangerously destabilised during high winds was taken down and in March a tree fell on to the park’s golf course.
More to come.
Robyn Edie/Stuff
The treetop – in the pond.
