A killer is running loose on Sydney’s North Shore – A tree killer.
Suburbia was uprooted this morning by a group of men in high-vis holding chainsaws, who claimed to be council contractors.
They got to work, cutting the limbs off a Paperbark tree on New Street, Bondi, unquestioned.
The tree was almost gone when residents found out they were not council contractors.
The bizarre act of random pruning has divided the neighbourhood, no stranger to tree-related drama.
The residents of New Street spoke to the ABC anonymously, the crime scene still freshly taped off and tensions simmering.
This is the fourth tree to be targeted on the street in the span of four months.
One resident assumed her requests to council were finally being paid attention to, as debris from the trees would block the stormwater drain, in turn causing flooding on and near her property.
Another resident echoed the council’s disregard for maintenance requests.
“I know I’m not alone in wanting this tree and the trees in this area gone,” the first resident said, who during heavy rain, she and her family would have to clear leaves from drains to manage the flooding issue.
A council spokeswoman, however, has confirmed that the most recent reports for pruning and stormwater blockages were lodged in 2024.
She maintained that the trees of New Street were “well maintained with canopies that do not encroach on property structures or impact traffic.”
Other residents raised concerns about who the resident paying the tree-cutters may have been. It’s not yet known who paid the phony contractors, or why, but there would have to be a neighbourhood group chat popping off with great theories.
Aside from the vandalism disrupting the street’s aesthetic and animal life, New Street’s former tree is just the latest in an ongoing saga.
Across the North Shore, tree attacks have been increasing. Following a spate of tree killings in Castle Cove in 2024, which saw 265 trees illegally lopped, councils have considered new legislation, bigger fines, and even jail time for offenders.
Most often the trees are chopped down for the all-important waterfront view. The penalty for committing the crime of illegal tree chopping carries a penalty of up to $1 million. It’s a risky task just to uphold property value.
New Street’s trees, though, do not obstruct water views, adding further intrigue. Why this tree, here, and now? And who? I wish the aforementioned neighbourhood group chat luck in cracking the case.
