Fairfield schoolchildren join camp out to protect lemon scented gums

Alphington neighbours from preschoolers to pensioners have set up a 24-hour camp at the base of two beloved street trees, to thwart a gas company from axing them. But their hippie activism could come with a multimillion-dollar price tag.

Protesters have been camped out on the corner of Park Cres and Alphington St for three weeks. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Alphington protesters are sleeping in the street as part of a vigil to protect two lemon-scented gum trees, which has now entered its third week.

The round-the-clock stand off began after gas company APA Group said they needed to cut down the trees on Alphington St for pipe maintenance.

Furious protesters on April 7 ringed the tree to prevent APA accessing and fencing off the site.

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They then bedded down after police told them that if they left, the company could legally erect the fence and start the chainsaws.

And they’re still there.

The camp at the base of the gum trees.

APA Group networks operations general manager Ken Hedley said the coating of the below-ground high-pressure pipeline had been damaged by the trees, and needed repairs.

An independent report estimated building a new main or relocating the pipe could cost up to $2 million, compared to the $100,000 tree removal cost.

Mr Hedley said repair works required removing the trees, which were planted after the pipeline was installed, which would also prevent more damage.

But homeowner Julie Stallwood said the group felt APA was trying to “bulldoze” them and the trees.

“The gas company is looking at last century technology — we need to be looking at ways of retaining trees, not knocking them over,” she said.

The vigil has been supported widely, with preschoolers writing messages on the road to protesters in their 70s doing the midnight to 4am shift.

Locals have been adding to the amenities since they set up camp on April 7.

Ms Stallwood said camping out showed how much the trees meant to the community.

“We don’t have any plans to leave,” she said.

“We’ve got plenty of people willing to help.”

They want APA Group to try other methods of repair, or reroute the pipeline, to avoid chopping the trees down.

An independent report from engineering multinational GHD Group investigated alternatives and found they were unproven, not practised by the gas industry, likely to damage the trees anyway, or excessively costly.

The area can’t be fenced off while the protesters’ shanty is there.

But Ms Stallwood said the report failed to put any value on the trees themselves.

“They’re very special, the way they have grown together accommodating each other. A number of bird species come to the trees on a daily basis,” she said.

They’re asking APA Group for a meeting to discuss the independent report and reach an agreeable solution.

They have received support from Cooper federal Labor MP Ged Kearney, Northcote state Labor MP Kat Theophanous and Yarra Council Mayor Danae Bosler.

An arborists report, conducted as part of the GHD review, found the trees provided a high level of “visual amenity” and were of “high arboricultural value”.

It said rerouting the pipe should be the preferred option.

@richardapearce