Chook Tree top of the pecking order
The owners of North Otago's Chook Tree say it is "egg-cellent" to have been crowned the winner of a national competition.
The tree in Waianakarua, north of Palmerston, was voted the winner of the Tree of the Year New Zealand competition by the public from among a pool of six finalists.
"It sort of makes all that work and effort that we do every year rewarding," owner Johnny Rusbatch said.
His wife Hayley said they were "honoured" to have been named the winner.
"We keep saying it seems egg-cellent being named Tree of the Year."
The 6.6m-tall chicken-shaped tree sculpture was created by local poultry farmers Norman and Evelyn Clarke after it was damaged in 1978 by a storm, its remnants resembling that of a giant hen.
Mr Rusbatch said his parents bought the property and its distinctive macrocarpa tree — or "Big Chook", as he referred to it — from the Clarkes in 1991, which he since inherited about nine years ago.
When they first bought it, his parents probably saw it as "a bit of a gimmick".
"It was a great socialiser.
"They'd bring friends down, and I know Dad had a lot of great mates that used to come down, and they'd have a few beers and trim the chook."
Once he knew it was going to be a finalist in the competition, he had an arborist give the tree a few touch-ups — including a new beak and around its eyes.
It usually had a trim once or twice a year, and in the past had been dressed up with lights during the rugby season.
The Chook Tree also came with its very own "egg".
"Everyone thinks it's a Moeraki boulder, but it's not. It's literally just a big, hollow plastered egg, really, he[Norm, a plasterer by trade] created that."
When asked the fated question of which came first — the chicken or the egg — the pair agreed it was "technically the chicken".
In a statement, the New Zealand Notable Trees Trust, which has run the annual competition since 2022, said the Chook Tree secured the win "by a comfortable margin".
Trustee Brad Cadwallader said it garnered a total of 3000 votes, beating runner-up Canterbury's Rangiora Borough School Redwood with 1714 votes.
tim.scott@odt.co.nz
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