Mary St trader Stacy Edwards says she will chain herself to doomed trees

Business owner Stacy Edwards says she intends to chain herself to two doomed leopard trees as the Gympie Regional Council tries to remove them from the CBD on Sunday morning

Mary St business owner Stacy Edwards says she intends to chain herself to two doomed leopard trees as the Gympie Regional Council tries to remove them from the CBD on Sunday morning.

The operator of upper Mary St business Memphis Barbers has joined a deafening chorus of voices to speak out against the move, after the council announced earlier this month that it was digging up the trees on health and safety grounds.

Ms Edwards said she felt fed up with the council’s lack of consultation with the community on relevant local issues, after Gympie Landcare nursery manager Andrew Mackenzie on Thursday (August 19) backed calls from Mary St trader Tony Goodman to secure a stay of execution for the “hidden gems” of the street.

Hartwig reveals why large leopard trees in CBD have to go

“I don’t want anyone to chop them down, I think it’s f*****g disgusting, and they haven’t given anyone time or notice,” Ms Edwards said.

“They’re going to do it anyway, but I might as well make it a little bit tougher.

“It’s not right, they haven’t given our community any time to say yes or no.

“Where’s all our environmental levy money gone?

“They’re not your trees, Glen (Mayor Glen Hartwig). They’re the community’s trees, I’m going to chain myself to these trees because we have no say anymore.”

A message from the Mayor.You may have heard on social media or in our local media that two trees in Mary Street are to...

Posted by Gympie Regional Council on Monday, August 16, 2021

Mr Mackenzie said this week he thought the council should “leave (the trees) alone”, and “simple maintenance” would easily solve the health and safety issues for which they were being removed.

“There’s nothing wrong with those trees that a little bit of maintenance won’t fix, at very little cost to council,” Mr Mackenzie said.

“How many trees are we talking about? Two. It’s 10 minutes of maintenance every month.”

Mayor Glen Hartwig said last week the trees’ roots were causing damage to underground infrastructure and shifting the pavement, creating a safety hazard.

The majority of councillors supported the decision to remove and replace them, though Division 8 incumbent Bob Fredman said councillors had “had no say in the matter”.

An emotional Mr Goodman said he felt as if he was losing two “old mates”, and he had secured the support of some 32 Mary St traders who shared his opposition to the trees’ removal.

Ms Edwards, one of those traders, said she was looking to organise a small gathering in defence of the trees at 5am on Sunday morning (August 22) shortly before the removal works begin.

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“It’s horrible, they take our money and we’ve got no say,” Ms Edwards said.

“I’m all for the community, I’ve built my business up for this community, and the council should be on our side, not against us.”