One in five Gold Coast Norfolk pines assessed so far to be destroyed in wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred
By Nicholas McElroy
ABC Gold Coast
Topic:Trees
21m ago21 minutes agoThu 20 Mar 2025 at 8:02pm
Tree uprooted in a carpark.
Strong winds ripped up protected trees at Coolangatta. (ABC News: Alexandria Utting)
In short:
Council assessments have so far deemed 50 Norfolk Island pines as dangerous on the Gold Coast after Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
They will be removed and the timber from the damaged trees will be turned into woodchips.
What's next?
A city councillor says early talks are underway to replace the trees that will be cut down.
A fifth of all Norfolk Island pines assessed on the Gold Coast in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred so far have been deemed unsafe and will be destroyed.
Hundreds of the trees line parks and foreshores across the city with some approaching 100 years old and historically significant.
Trees next to a beach.
Some of the taller trees that stand above Rainbow Bay at Coolangatta. (Supplied: Griffith University)
Many were uprooted by the winds of more than 100kph that lashed the coastline, and City of Gold Coast council crews are assessing the damage caused to the trees that remain standing.
More than 250 trees have been assessed and so far 50 have been deemed unsafe by the city due to major trunk and root plate movement.
Raised turf around the base of a Norfolk Pine showing how much a tree moved in the storm.
Raised turf around the base of a Norfolk pine shows how much the tree moved in the storm. (Supplied: City of Gold Coast)
A city spokesperson said the timber would not be salvaged but would be turned into woodchips.
"The wood removed from the Norfolk Island pines is chipped as the wood is generally difficult to work with and is more useful as mulch," they said in a statement.
'They don't look perfect'
Griffith University PhD candidate Anna Petrova researched the Gold Coast's Norfolk Island pines before the storm.
She found just over 15 per cent of the trees were flagging and was not surprised by the damage.
"If you walk the coast there are plenty of trees that … don't look perfect, so to say," Ms Petrova said.
Her research found that some trees were under threat from urban stress, extreme weather, and pathogens.
Ms Petrova said Norfolk pines were planted after much of the Gold Coast region was cleared of its original tree cover and many were now in difficult growth areas like car parks and other paved areas.
"Have a look the trees that are next to car parks; they look worse than those that are in stands [groups],"
she said.
Planting talks underway
Ms Petrova said the pines could be maintained with increased irrigation during dry spells, and any replacement trees in the wake of the cyclone should be planted in better locations.
"Where should the council plant those trees if they're planning to do it in the future? … Maybe the best way is to completely avoid roads and car parks."
A seat around a tree that has been cut down and lies in the background.
Norfolk pines have also been cut down at Byron Bay after the storm. (Supplied: Marc Wilson)
Southern Gold Coast Councillor Gail O'Neill said talks were already underway to replant the pines.
"Do we plant them back in the roadway, like some of them are, or do we plant them in the park area?" Cr O'Neill said.
"I'm really pleased that they're going to replant because even though they're not native, they're very iconic.
"Some of them were planted there in the 1930s, so pretty well we can call them locals."
Pines in front of old building
The Norfolk pines at Burleigh Heads and Coolangatta are heritage protected by City of Gold Coast. (Supplied: Karen Wright)
Cr O'Neill said arborists inspecting trees more often was "going to be even more important going forward now that we've had a cyclone".
While the council said the trees would be chipped, Cr O'Neill said residents had suggested that some of the timber should be donated to woodcrafting workshops or men's sheds.
"I've passed on a few suggestions that residents have made about what we could do with the wood. We'll see what comes of that."
Posted21m ago21 minutes agoThu 20 Mar 2025 at 8:02pm
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