Warburton gum tree removal: Protester refusing to get down despite police, council pleas

A council in Melbourne’s outer east is under fire with ratepayers forced to foot the bill for the enormous cost to remove a gum tree, after a group of protesters “invaded” the site.

A man protesting the removal of a huge gum tree in Warburton. Picture: Stacey Clarke

A council in Melbourne’s outer east is under fire for spending $400,000 to remove a historic gum tree, after a group of protesters “invaded” the site.

Yarra Ranges Council finally cut down the towering tree, which it said was unsafe and posing a threat to the community, from a Warburton carpark last week.

It came after a three month battle with protesters, with the police called after one man refused to get down from the gum last week.

At Tuesday night’s council meeting it was revealed the total cost to removal the tree, including the council being obstructed from doing the safety work, was in the order of $400,000.

This included independent arboriculture advice, legal advice, contractor costs, traffic management, fencing and security.

Council Watch vice president Dean Hurlston said the council should be ashamed of itself.

“This is a council that closes public meetings at the first sign of community backlash,” Mr

Hurlston said.

“Whilst we don’t condone bad behaviour, council meetings and transparency to the local community are vital.

“And now we find out from the same council they have spent over $400,000 fighting residents to cut down a historical tree.

“This isn’t about safety this is about power and crushing any opposition.

“If it’s a safety issue, deal with it – but 400 grand?

“Are we really that crazy?”

The removal of the Warburton gum tree has cost Yarra Ranges ratepayers $400,000.

Mr Hurlston said the council could have run a food bank for six months with the money.

But Yarra Ranges Mayor Jim Child said the council had been forced to deal with a “minority group of protesters” who had invaded the site and “held the community to ransom”.

“I’m pretty disappointed it’s cost us this amount of money,” Cr Child said.

“I use the example all the time - just imagine how many footpaths we could put down for that?

“That money has been just thrown to the wind by a group of people who held the community to ransom, the business community to ransom, and council to ransom.

“I believe that was totally unfair on an issue which we had investigated thoroughly – that tree was a risk to the community and it had to be dealt with.”

Cr Child said the tree was identified through operational procedures as being a risk to the community.

“And then we find protesters get involved and we couldn’t fulfil that work to protect the community and that’s sad.

“I think what we did is show good faith with that minority group, to have a discussion with them, but ultimately it was the assessment of four arborists’ reports that told us that that tree was placing the community at risk, we had to deal with it.”

Cr Child said he believed what was left of the tree, about a 10m trunk, should also come down as it was still posing a risk to the community.

HISTORIC TREE FINALLY REMOVED

Report from June 1, 2023

A historic Warburton tree has finally been cut down despite the efforts of a protester who harnessed himself to the gum and refused to get down.

The tree, a 35m mountain grey gum, was originally due to be chopped down in March, after Yarra Ranges Council announced it was at risk of falling and posed “an unacceptable risk to residents and visitors”.

But a huge community outcry halted the plans, with many locals calling for the “beautiful” tree to be preserved, believing it had historical significance and provided habitat for many birds.

Workers finally moved in to cut down the tree late on Wednesday night, after the protester came down about 11pm.

Photos shared online show the tree has been reduced significantly in size, with roughly 10m of the trunk remaining.

A Victoria Police spokesman said local police with support from the search and rescue squad attended Warburton Recreational Reserve on Wednesday morning as a result of protest activity.

Police at the scene on Wednesday. Picture: Stacey Clarke

The spokesman told Leader on Wednesday the area at the reserve was declared an exclusion zone by the council and was cleared of protesters without incident, apart from a lone man who remained harnessed to the peak of the tree.

“Officers have been in liaison with the man and are concerned for his welfare, due to the condition of the tree and his position, however he has refused to descend,” the spokesman said.

“Police left the scene late (Wednesday) evening but council officers and security are on site and continue to liaise with the man. Police will return if there are further public order issues.”

Warburton resident Stacey Clarke said nobody in the community was aware the council and police would be attending the scene on Wednesday.

The tree before it was chopped down. Picture: Maya Ward

The aftermath.

“The man who is in the tree … he had been camping in the tree, he had a tent in the tree,” she said.

“They had gone to take the tent down but he had secured himself to another branch so he had tied himself into the tree and he stuck there quite firmly. Even when the wind picked up he didn’t budge at all.

“It was good to see people sticking together and standing up for what they believe in, but there was a little bit of controversy there as well, with people backwards and forwards with their disagreements.

“I can see why people want to save the tree, I understand they are taking it down for safety reasons but the group of people who are there trying to save the tree have come up with ways to structurally support the tree and make it safe so that it doesn’t hurt anybody.”

In an update on Wednesday, Yarra Ranges Council confirmed it had sought support from police to enable safety works to be completed on the tree.

The tree after the works were complete.

“The tree … had been assessed as dangerous by four separate expert arborist reports,” the council said.

“It is of poor structure and has a split in the lower trunk.

“Over the last few weeks the split in the lower trunk became active and the risk to the community has significantly increased.

“The main entrance to a busy recreation reserve is fenced off and public toilets closed in preparation for further safety works to continue,” the council said.

“However, protesters continue to trespass and find their way through the fencing.

“To ensure critical safety works could be completed on the tree, council had no other choice but to seek assistance from Victoria Police to keep the site safe and prevent people from entering.”

The Warburton tree protest on Wednesday. Picture: Stacey Clarke

The council said the tree did not have formal indigenous or cultural heritage, and Heritage Victoria has advised council that an Interim Protection Order (IPO) was not warranted for the tree.

The council is still hopeful some of the tree’s trunk could be retained as part of a fenced off habitat area at the site.

“We are doing all we can to look at options to retain some of this much-loved tree and remain committed to working with the community to achieve this.”

Warburton resident Maya Ward previously told Leader she wanted the council to consider other options before cutting the “beautiful” mountain grey gum tree down.

“It is the most prominent and iconic tree in Warburton because it is so huge, it’s definitely pre-settlement and is probably around 300 years old,” she said.

“Nobody has known Warburton without this tree, it is a real landmark.”