The sound of cutting equipment and woodchippers filled a Euroa street on Monday, May 12, as a group of trees that were more than 80 years old were felled.
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Five plane trees and an English elm were cut down in Anderson St on Monday, despite upset in the community in the week leading up to their removal.
A sixth plane tree was cut down on Tuesday morning as part of works on the Inland Rail project.
In a letter to residents the week earlier, Inland Rail said it would also be removing a crimson bottlebrush and two purple leaf cherry trees.
The start of the tree removal in Anderson St on Monday.
Inland Rail said the trees were cut down in the section between Railway and Hinton Sts and Brock St to allow for an underpass to be put in at the end of Anderson St as part of the project, which will connect Melbourne and Brisbane by rail.
“Due to the spatial constraints associated with construction of a vehicle underpass, tree loss on Anderson St is unavoidable,” an Inland Rail spokesperson said before their removal.
Euroa Environment Group chair Shirley Saywell said Monday was “a very sad day for Euroa residents”.
“We tried every avenue in the lead-up to save them,” she said.
The trees were removed as part of the Inland Rail project.
“There’s a lot of pain in this town today (Monday) because we can hear the chainsaws.
“Something that takes 80 years to grow shouldn’t be taken out in a few minutes.
“It was like a mini avenue, but it’s not any more.”
Ms Saywell said people had “kind of resigned themselves to the fact they were going” before the trees started to be pulled out on Monday.
The trees line Anderson St in this photo taken only days before their removal.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Ms Saywell said not enough consultation took place about the trees that were to be removed.
She also said other trees in the town were being removed as part of the Inland Rail project, but that a group of residents had managed to save some of them a couple of months ago, including a 200-year-old fig tree in nearby Brock St, as well as a grey box tree she said was about 100 years old.
“We had the conversation (with Inland Rail) and saved some trees,” she said.
An Inland Rail spokesperson said Inland Rail worked with the engineers, construction team, asset owners — council, Department of Transport and Planning, VicTrack — and arborists to “individually assess each tree, to first see if impact can be avoided, then minimised, before we determine if removal is required”.
Six plane trees, including this one, were cut down.
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