Historic fig trees vandalised in Mosman

Nine historic Port Jackson figs in Mosman have had holes drilled into their bases and possibly filled with herbicide, sparking an investigation by police and the local council into Sydney’s latest case of tree vandalism.

Mosman Council was told on Monday that a Balmoral resident had seen someone drilling into a fig tree along the Balmoral foreshore.

Nine trees along the Balmoral foreshore have had holes drilled into them in an act of vandalism.Credit: Laura Chung

“Council staff completed an onsite inspection and discovered nine fig trees in the area had been drilled. These included five semi-mature and four mature Port Jackson fig trees,” a Mosman Council spokesperson said.

“Contractors have washed out the drill holes and applied Seasol to the surrounding soil.”

The spokesperson added that council staff would write to all properties within the vicinity of the drilled trees, and place signs at the site seeking further information from the public.

Council staff are reasonably confident that the trees will survive. The trees will be inspected regularly for further signs of distress.

Three of the nine confirmed Port Jackson fig trees that have had holes drilled into them.Credit: Google Maps

NSW Police said they were contacted by council on Monday, and they were working together.

“Well, we had a report which is just brilliant that a resident did see on the evening of Sunday 18 of February, he saw someone in a black hoodie late at night down there looking very suspicious with a drill,” Mosman Mayor Caroline Corrigan told ABC radio.

Corrigan said the resident chased the person away, but when council workers arrived the next morning, they found nine figs with holes.

“Some of the holes look like they might have been there for some time,” she said.

“It was really lucky that the resident disturbed that person on Sunday night.”

Corrigan said it was a “wait and see” exercise, but the council was “cautiously hopeful” the trees could be saved. She said she was supportive of tougher penalties for those who poison public trees.

Putting up “huge banners” was on the cards if the tree vandalism continued, she said.

“Could you imagine Balmoral without those figs?”

On Friday morning, when news broke of the incident, Balmoral residents could be seen wandering along the foreshore inspecting the holes.

To an untrained eye, the holes appear to have been made by a burrowing animal – until one sees how regular and uniform they are.

Among the residents was Ian Sutherland, who said nothing like this had ever happened in the trees’ 100-year history. He added it was staggering to see the damage and thought there needed to be tougher penalties for those who vandalised trees.

Tree vandalism on the rise

Last year, the Herald’s analysis of council data showed local governments had received more than 1000 reports of trees being damaged or killed in the past 12 months.

Multiple councils – including Sutherland Shire, Ku-ring-gai and Liverpool – had significant increases in reports of tree vandalism in 2023 compared with previous years.

Last year, two unprecedented mass tree-killing incidents saw more than 260 trees hacked, chainsawed and poisoned in Castle Cove, and up to 300 trees and other plants felled in Longueville in Lane Cove.

Cash-strapped and under increasing pressure from the state government amid ongoing fights over development, councils are lobbying the Minns government for increased support to investigate and prosecute tree vandals.

Local authorities can issue fines for incidents of tree vandalism of $3000 for individuals and $6000 for companies, and fines can reach $1 million for individuals and $5 million for companies if they are hauled through the courts.

Why are trees important?

Trees are vital as they provide food and shelter for animals, help cool our urban environments and improve our wellbeing, said Professor Dieter Hochuli from the University of Sydney’s School of Life and Environmental Science.

He said trees were very resilient but could only deal with a few threats at one time. For example, while the trees might be able to bounce back from the drilling, if they were also to develop a fungus or have their water source dramatically affected, they might not be able to cope.

He added that, when planning a city or green space, it’s important that authorities plant trees at different times to ensure there’s not only a spread in maturity (with younger trees more susceptible to risk and so the older trees don’t all die at the same time) but also in species.