Couple sad to see old maple go
Owners of a Waikato property were close to tears when it came time to say goodbye to New Zealand’s biggest and oldest Japanese maple tree.
The Acer Palmatum was more than 100 years old and grew on a Hall St property in Cambridge.
Garry and Jewel Casey moved into the property in 1990 and inherited the tree. An arborist estimated it to be about 130 years old.
‘‘When we moved in I wondered if it was a protected tree but I was told it wasn’t,’’ said Jewel. ‘‘Then all of a sudden someone came around told us it was and that we weren’t allowed to trim it. But we cleaned up the leaves, they were such a beautiful colour.’’
The Waipa District Council maintained the tree, inspecting it once a year and attended to any trimming needed.
‘‘It hasn’t been looking the best over the past few years,’’ said Jewel. ‘‘There were a few branches that came off and then we noticed very sparse leaf growth, then one side of the tree just died.’’
They had it assessed and were told to have it taken down for safety reasons. Work to remove the tree was completed on Friday.
‘‘It’s almost like losing an elderly grandmother or mother, it really was part of the family.’’
It is featured in the New Zealand Book of Trees, which says it is the largest and oldest of its type in the country.
‘‘When we moved here there were a lot of big trees in this street, but two of them have since been taken down.’’
She said the family has many fond memories of the tree. Their grandchildren used to climb it, and one autumn Garry wrote ‘‘I luv u’’ among the leaves.
‘‘I’m not sure if he was saying I love you to me or the tree,’’ she laughed.
They do have another 49 maple trees on their property, but of a smaller variety.
‘‘But we have been potting up lots of seedlings which we gave to the Cambridge Tree Trust, so some of the tree’s babies will grow.’’