One of Raymond Terrace's iconic Norfolk Island Pine trees has had its top lopped off in an effort to save it from a deadly disease.
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When the second Norfolk pine, which stands next to the one lit up at Christmas each year, began showing signs of a disease Raymond Terrace Bowling Club, owners of the Rectory where the trees are located, acted quickly.
"[We met] with council in February who advised that we needed to remove the top of the tree approximately a metre below the decayed area," Raymond Terrace Bowling Club chairman Michael Harriss said.
"This was the only way we could try and save the tree. If we did not do this, the tree would continue to die and eventually have to be removed from the property."
Mr Harriss said Port Stephens Council first advised the club that there appeared to be a problem with the tree, which stood more than 40 metres tall, in September 2018.
The tree was losing its greenery from the top down.
It was first suspected the tree caught Armillaria luteobubalina, the same fungal disease that had cause root rot in trees along Jacaranda Avenue.
With the advice of council, the club sent samples from the affected Norfolk Island Pine to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney for analysis.
It was found that the tree had Norfolk Island Pine stem canker caused by the fungus Neofusicoccum parvum.
"The Norfolk Island Pine canker thrives in dry seasons, like we've had for the past two years," Steve Peart, Port Stephens Council's strategy and environment section manager, said.
"Norfolk Island Pines up and down the east coast are being affected.
"Councils are managing the disease by either reducing the height of trees as has been done in Raymond Terrace, or removing contaminated trees.
"We're also increasing our maintenance schedule for those trees which have not been affected to preserve them as much as possible."
John Atkins, a teacher of horticulture at TAFE NSW, advised the bowling club in December that the same disease had been found in Norfolk Island Pines in Swansea, Belmont and Singleton.
The common sign of the disease is that the top of the tree will dieback in a downward direction over several years until the tree dies.
On March 6 the bowling club received a call advising them that a branch had fallen off the diseased Norfolk Island Pine and into the backyard of a neighbouring property.
It was found that the branch had fallen from the top 10 meters of the tree which had decayed so much it could not withstand the breeze blowing that afternoon.
Days later, on March 13, Dwayne Hopper and his team removed the top half of the diseased tree until no more of the disease was found in the trunk. About half the tree was removed.
Mr Hopper, known as Hopper the Tree Lopper, is familiar with the trees. For the past 20 years he has scaled the heights of the front Norfolk Island Pine to install Christmas lights in it.
The arborist work was carried out with help from a crane and with Port Stephens Council staff on site.
The front Norfolk Island Pine is heritage listed and included on the National Trust Register of Significant Trees.
It was recognised in 2010 as Australia's largest Norfolk Island Pine, standing three metres taller than its nearest rival, a 40-metre Norfolk Island pine in Victor Harbour, South Australia.
A St John's Anglican Church warden planted three pines in the grounds of the old Rectory in 1862.
Two are still standing but the third came down during a storm in the 1940s.
The front pine has featured Christmas lights since 1961.
Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
