Lack of protection sees 'sacred' pōhutukawa tree half cut down in Northland

Saturday, 25 September 2021

Northland iwi and community members are upset a culturally significant pōhutakawa has been half cut down, saying the 200-year-old tree should’ve had more protection.

The pōhutukawa, on Ahipara’s Wharo Lane, was the site of Te Rarawa’s original marae, as well as a former court, Catholic Church and post office, said iwi representative Rueben Taipari.

“It’s one of the most scared areas for our history – more so than the marae – it goes back nearly to the waka,” he said.

Half the pōhutukawa tree in Ahipara was cut down on Tuesday, saddening iwi who say it is the last remnant of an important site occupied by their ancestors.

“The only thing left remaining in this entire section of Ahipara is this one tree.”

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Cecil Williams says the pōhutukawa tree was in poor health, and he cut down the limbs to the left running parallel with the ground.

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Rueben Taipari said the felled pōhutukawa branches were tapu (sacred) as they connected with Te Rarawa’s ancestors.

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Taipari said both iwi members and local Pākēha were upset the tree was damaged, and he wanted to sue the Far North District Council for its lack of protection over the specimen.

Landowner Dr Cecil Williams said he cut part of the tree down, both to restore the remaining half of the tree and enable building on the site.

But he asked the council if the cutting was allowed, and was upset it did not inform him the tree was significant to local iwi.

“If we had known it was significant, we could’ve talked to them beforehand … We’re not for destroying people’s heritage.”

Williams, a GP looking to build his retirement house, said the tree’s health had deteriorated since he bought the section in 2008, with half of the pōhutukawa growing almost parallel to the ground.

At the same time, building restrictions on the site to protect against sea level rise meant there is limited building space on the section, and the fallen limbs were in the way of a building site, he said.

“We didn’t want to cut down the tree but they [the builders] said some of the tree had to go.”

Council district services general manager Dr Dean Myburgh said the pōhutukawa is not listed as a notable tree, so pruning is allowed.

He acknowledged it was identified in the Ahipara Takiwa Management Plan as a “landmark pōhutukawa tree”, but said the schedule of notable trees is the best mechanism for council to protect individual trees.

However, Myburgh said the site was also subject to a private covenant protecting the pōhutukawa, and the property owner was advised to check the covenants, which cannot be enforced by council.

The pōhutukawa and other significant trees could be included in the next schedule of notable trees in the draft District Plan, which council is currently discussing with tangata whenua, he said.

Williams said he is happy for the community to appreciate the pōhutukawa, and he is looking at putting benches under it for the public to sit on.

He is hopeful the cutting has enhanced what is left of the tree, and said he and his wife also plan to plant more pōhutukawa on the site.