Wanaka's iconic lakefront poplars rotting

Wednesday, 26 July 2017

Queenstown Lakes District Council arborist Tim Errington points to an area of internal decay in a poplar on Wanaka's lakefront.

Some of Wanaka's most popular lakeside poplars are rotting.

Two mature lombardy poplars blew down in Roys Bay during an overnight storm on July 22. They have now been turned into firewood for public collection by contractors Asplundh.

Two of Wanaka's iconic Roys Bay poplars were being cut for fire wood on July 25.

But more of the iconic poplars are suffering from internal decay and could also get the chop.

Queenstown Lakes District Council arborist Tim Errington said he hoped that could not be the case.

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A decision would be made after the rot had been mapped with soundwave technology, he said.

'Poplars are very soft wood and can decay easy. They get a fungus infection inside that makes them brittle and they fail. It is easy to detect in poplars by tapping. You can hear it because decay has a hollow ring to it.'

One of the poplars blew down and had decayed roots, but the other snapped because of internal decay, he said.

Errington said he was aware the poplars were 'really iconic on the lakefront'. They have been planted in curving, wing-like lines.

'I have two other trees with pockets of decay but I don't know how extensive it is. So we will get a chap down from Auckland with soundwave technology to map the decay. And then we will make a decision about the trees,' he said.

Errington said if not much decay was found, one option was to lower the tree's height to reduce loading during high winds.

The trees would also have to be monitored regularly, he said.

'They are iconic trees. They really are. You have to see then through the seasons to appreciate them,' Errington said.

Some Wanaka Station Park trees also suffered storm damage, limited to snapped and fallen branches.

Meanwhile, the most famous tree in Roys Bay, a small water-logged willow that draws crowds of photographers every day, was healthy, Errington said.

He had checked The Wanaka Tree and the only concern he and council parks staff had was the low lake level – presently 276.6m – which meant people could get close to the willow.

That was encouraging people to climb in the willow for photographs.

'Please don't climb over the tree . . . The willow has thin bark and it is easily pulls away. So people climbing it are scuffing it with their feet,' Errington said.

He had also seen people slack lining [balancing on a rope fixed between two trees] from the willow tree, which he said people should not do.

Errington said the council staff did not want to put a warning sign up at the Wanaka willow because it would destroy the tree's ambience.