Port Phillip Council tears down 30-year-old St Kilda treehouse
A beloved 30-year-old treehouse has been torn down by sledgehammer-wielding council contractors, who neighbours say inflamed the situation further with their arrogant behaviour in front of “bawling” kids.
Inner South
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A St Kilda treehouse which has been enjoyed by children for 30 years has been torn down by council “fun fascists” without warning.
Dubbed the “Happy Tree”, the Irymple Ave structure had been a popular play spot for neighbourhood children for decades, and is even the subject of a kids news program.
Mark Wiesmayr, whose children Indigo and Dune host the weekly Treehouse News vlog, said he was appalled at the cavalier attitude of the council contractors.
“They stood in the treehouse taking selfies and laughing while children — and adults — were bawling,” he said.
“(Tearing it down) was done with reckless, arrogant abandon.
“They completely destroyed the wood with sledgehammers and left nails sticking out of the tree.”
Mr Wiesmayr, a trained tree surgeon, had recently installed new wood railings and struts to boost safety but the workers had “just trashed it all”.
The treehouse was built in the dead-end street in about 1990 by Zac Gross, the son of Port Phillip councillor and former mayor Dick Gross.
Cr Gross said he was “incandescent with rage” at its removal.
It comes as the council this month voted to investigate whether to change its local laws to make it possible for people to get permits to install play equipment on public land.
Cr Gross said he was “enraged” the council had moved to tear down the structure “without warning”.
“Following that meeting the council actually said nothing would be removed during COVID-19,” he said.
“I was shocked when I heard this noise and looked out my window to see it was already two thirds demolished.
“I’ve never felt more pathetic or impotent in my life knowing there was nothing I could do.
“I felt so useless — like tits on a bull.”
Cr Gross said the children had devised safety protocols for playing in the treehouse, including a cap on the number of kids who could be in it at any one time.
“It’s sweet, they’ve got all these rules about safety and they always wear bike helmets when they go up there,” he said.
Mr Wiesmayr said the treehouse had provided “some sense of community” for children on the street who were otherwise cut off from their friends and schoolmates during social distancing restrictions.
“Of all the times to tear it down, after 30 years, they choose the most sensitive time,” he said.
“It’s been a temporary trauma for the kids.”
Port Phillip Council chief executive Peter Smith said the treehouse and ladder next to it were removed “after being assessed as unsafe by council officers”.
“Nails used to attach pieces of wood were also damaging the council’s 70-year-old London plane tree,” he said.
Mr Smith said the treehouse had been removed while the council investigated whether to allow such structures to go ahead.
“Our local laws don’t (currently) allow for structures to be attached to council assets, including trees,” he said.
“We understand the pandemic has made access to public space even more important for our young residents to enjoy so we are investigating whether changes can be made to policies and the local laws to allow children to safely use play equipment, such as swings, on nature strips without damaging trees.”
Mr Smith said the council wasn’t aware how long the treehouse had been there and had “received varying estimates” about when it was built.
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