By Tom Cowie
The new owners of a dilapidated house in Thornbury bought at auction for more than $1 million are now locked in a battle with locals who want to protect two large eucalypts believed to be among the suburb’s tallest trees.
The City of Darebin is considering an application in Ballantyne Street to remove two sugar gum trees on a private property that could date back to the construction of the house more than 100 years ago.
Locals in Thornbury want to protect two gum trees that are at risk of being pulled down.Credit: Justin McManus
The larger of the two is estimated at more than 25 metres tall and believed to be one of the tallest trees in Thornbury.
The trees sit on the western edge of a block which sold at auction nearly two months ago as a deceased estate for just over $1 million.
“These trees are believed to be the oldest and largest in Thornbury. They are much loved local landmarks and have stood for generations,” resident Mel del Monaco told a Darebin council meeting on Monday.
“They’re irreplaceable and too important to lose.”
Until the sale, local historians who have researched the property believe it was owned by the same family dating back to when Thornbury was first subdivided at the turn of the 20th century.
However, the original timber house had fallen into poor condition and not been lived in for many years. The outside walls are covered in graffiti and the windows boarded up with shutters.
Advertising material for the property said it offered “exceptional scope” for a knockdown rebuild for a single home or to develop into multiple dwellings.
The real estate agent’s copy did not mention the two trees dominating the block.
The house at 148 Ballantyne Street in Thornbury, which sold at auction for $1 million.Credit: Justin McManus
A petition lodged at Monday night’s Darebin council meeting opposes the new owner’s application for a local law permit to remove the trees.
Under Darebin’s tree protection policy, a tree is considered significant if it has a trunk circumference greater than 100 centimetres and is taller than eight metres.
The larger of the two trees is estimated to be almost 30 metres tall.Credit: Justin McManus
Those behind the petition believe the trees on Ballantyne Street have trunk girths of approximately 3.7 metres and 3.9 metres.
The online petition has 700 signatures and is calling for an independent ecological, heritage and arborist’s assessment of the two trees.
Climate change is leading to more hot days, more flooding and more habitat loss, said Del Monaco, which made trees such as those on Ballantyne Street worth protecting.
“Big trees help protect us. Yes, they may require responsible management, but the solution is care, not removal,” she said.
The petition is also seeking an investigation into whether the land can be publicly acquired and turned into a pocket park.
Local historian Cathy Dodson said that a study hadn’t been conducted on the age of the trees, which she estimated could be around 100 years old.
She said sugar gums were often planted as weather protection at the time of Thornbury’s first subdivisions from farmland in the 1880s.
“From a heritage perspective, I think it’s worth knowing how old they are to know exactly what could be destroyed if they’re cut down,” she told The Age.
“They’re obviously very old. Do they date from the early time of the house? I think that should be established as council works out what can happen to them.”
Former town planner Gavin Ashley, who lives close to nearby Merri Creek, said that a development application had not been lodged alongside the tree removal permit, so locals did not know what the new owners wanted to build.
Historical image from 1982 shows the house at 148 Ballantyne Street, Thornbury, with the trees in the background. Credit: City of Darebin
“It’s tricky, right? We need more housing,” he said.
“But when it comes up against two of the biggest trees in Thornbury, I’m not sure the housing contribution outweighs that amenity,” he said.
Monica Caminiti, from real estate agency Woodards, said that the buyers were aware that they would need to get a permit to remove the trees and knew it could go either way.
However, there were others in the area who thought the trees had become unsafe, she said.
“We’ve spoken to the neighbours, they’ve had to pay for branches to be cut off because it’s affecting their property,” she said.
“I get it, people want to protect the trees, but it’s a safety concern.”
Pruning would help reduce the risk posed by the trees, del Monaco said, avoiding the need to cut them down.
“We see the solution as regular maintenance of the trees, not removal of them,” she said.
Title documents show that the property is yet to reach settlement and is still in the name of the estate executor.
Darebin councillors passed a motion to refer the petition to council CEO Anne Howard for a response.
“The application is still under assessment and no decision has been made,” Howard said in a statement.
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