Cremorne Point: Freak pine cone accident sparks calls for tree warning

A Sydney council is considering fencing off a number of historic trees after a falling pine cone knocked a grandmother to the ground and left her needing hospital treatment.

There are calls for large pine trees at a popular bush track on Sydney’s north shore to be fenced off after a woman was struck by a 2kg cone and had to be taken to hospital.

Julie Jones, 70, was enjoying a day out with her family when the prickly cone fell from its Bunya Pine branch at Cremorne Point on Friday.

Julie’s daughter, Hannah Johnson, said what was intended to be a peaceful stroll ended at Northern Beaches Hospital’s emergency ward where her mother was treated for lower leg and back injuries.

Ms Jones also required a tetanus injection and is still recovering from her injuries.

Julie Jones is still recovering from the ordeal.

A photo of the injuries.

“We were about 250m into the walk when it happened – I was out front with my Dad and my mother was walking behind us with my daughter – then all of a sudden I heard this whoosh and basically I just shouted ‘move’,” Ms Johnson said.

“My mother then started screaming and there was blood gushing out of her leg. At first we didn’t know what had happened.

“The cone that fell was massive – it was a minimum two kilos and prickly.

“It narrowly missed my seven-year-old and my concern is it could have had far more serious consequences if something that size hit a small child.

“We took Mum to hospital and they said they’ve never had an injury like that before. Her leg is still swollen and she’s only just been able to take the bandages off.

A photo of the pine cone.

A photo of bruising caused in the incident.

“My parents are visiting from the UK – they’ve waited two years to come over to see their grandchildren so it’s not quite the holiday they were expecting.

“Fortunately she’s been able to smile about it and say – in Australia even the trees can kill you.”

Often recognised as a hazard for walkers, Bunya pine trees hail from Queensland, can grow 30 to 45m in height and are known for their large spiky cones filled with edible seeds.

Some cones have been weighed as heavy as 6.2kg – prompting some authorities including Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden to fence Bunyas off when they begin producing nuts.

Ms Johnson has written to North Sydney Council calling for it to enact similar measures, either through fencing or for warning signs alerting walkers to the dangers.

The incident occurred during a family walk.

A photo of a bunya pine.

“The trees didn’t have a fence nor was there any sign to let us know of any potential threat,” she said.

“I know it’s very rare and a freak accident but unless measures are taken this could have much more serious consequences next time.”

A North Sydney Council spokeswoman said staff would consider installing fencing and signing as a possible mitigation measure.

“Council has recently been made aware of the incident and we are sorry to hear that a visitor to Cremorne Point has been injured and we wish her a speedy recovery,” she said.

“The Bunya Pines in the council area were planted 80 to 100 years ago. Council monitors them and removes the pine cones, when or where deemed necessary or when council is made aware of any potential dangers that may exist.

“As a result of this incident, council will review its monitoring processes and determine if reasonably necessary to install or erect signage or fencing in this location.

“We are not aware of anyone being injured by a falling pine cone in the area prior to this instance, and in this regard the incident would appear to be an unusual or reasonably unforeseeable occurrence.

Mosman Parks & Bushland Association president Kate Eccles said she was not convinced fencing trees off or installing signs was the answer.

“They’re beautiful trees – they come from the Bunya Mountains and are very sacred to the Aboriginal groups, and at a certain point the cones do fall,” she said.

“But if you’re going to put up a sign talking about the trees should be to explain what they are and their significance – it would be much more interesting than ‘don’t walk here because they might fall once in a blue moon’.”