Aussie residents devastated after 'beautiful' trees mysteriously die after property sale

Yahoo

02-04-2025

Residents living along a tight-knit Aussie street are "devastated" after a clump of extremely important trees that had towered over their suburb began to die mysteriously. The leaves began to brown and the branches withered just weeks after the elderly couple who had lived at the large Sydney block for decades sold it to developers.
'They were in absolute perfect health. They were beautiful. They weren't dropping leaves or big branches,' local man Daryl told Yahoo News.
It was last month, while talking with a neighbour over the fence, that the 59-year-old noticed they were looking sick. 'He looked to me and said, oh my god, what's wrong with those trees?' he said.
Since the trees began to die, neighbours, many of them retirees, are battling a daily onslaught of small dead branches and leaves that fall onto their driveways. Some have had to pay for extra gardening services, and one woman reportedly cut her leg open on a fallen stick.
Most of the residents know each other, and the dying trees have been the talk of the neighbourhood. 'Everyone is devastated,' Daryl said.
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The eucalypts are located in leafy St Ives, on a side street off busy Mona Vale Road, in Sydney's north. The area has been undergoing rapid change, with large blocks along the arterial road worth millions because they can be converted from single to multiple dwellings.
Ku-ring-gai Council told Yahoo it became aware of the dying trees after a tip-off from residents on March 12 who documented large holes drilled into their trunks and sawdust on the ground. 'We found five Blackbutt trees that were displaying signs typical of toxic shock (that is likely poisoning),' it told Yahoo News.
Council confirmed it had not given permission for the trees to be killed or cut down. And while it's commonplace for councils around Sydney to investigate tree poisonings, in this case, action against the the damage appears to be outside its powers because the trees could be part of a very rare forest.
'Council does not have the power to investigate this matter. This is because the trees are part of a Critically Endangered Ecological Community,' a spokesperson told Yahoo.
Council suspects the trees belong to the Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest in the Sydney Basin Bioregion, a type of habitat that's protected under the state's NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Less than 0.5 per cent of this landscape remains, and the state government is responsible for protecting it from threats, which it says include clearing for development, inappropriate treatment of weeds, invasive pests, and fire.
The NSW Department of Environment (DCCEEW) confirmed it was aware of the reports, but it was unable to provide details of its investigation.
'DCCEEW... has received a report of alleged poisoning of trees at this address but no further comment can be provided as the investigation is ongoing,' it said.
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Tree poisonings are a common occurrence across Sydney, but prosecutions are relatively rare as it can be difficult to identify those responsible. But few are investigated at a state government level.
Daryl believes penalties need to be increased to stop vandals from destroying trees in future. Because in his view, these trees that were loved by his community were 'murdered'.
'It's not as though these are just small trees. But you know, whoever did it will probably get away with it. The whole thing just frustrates me so much,' he said.
'When we moved here, the guy who lived there used to feed the cockatoos and the tree used to be full of them. They're gone now.'
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