THE removal of at least five trees at Tyabb Primary School has left some residents distraught at the loss of a piece of the area’s heritage.
Contractors for the Department of Education removed the trees from the school yard, including English oak, Norfolk pine and desert ash.
Former student Alden Collins said he was devastated to see that the Norfolk Island pine gifted to the school by Harriet Benton, a sewing mistress for the school and part of an early pioneering family, had been razed. The tree was planted with Benton’s class in 1908 as she was leaving to go to Mildura to marry.
Another tree that was planted by Benton and her class in Tyabb, a Cedrus Atlantica Glauca or atlas pine, remained next to the town’s central oval and was regarded as a landmark.
Collins said he was sad to see the trees cut down without notice, as they were a much-loved part of the Tyabb landscape.
“Both the pines [in town and at the school] are 116 years old, which is incredible. Unfortunately, the primary school tree is no longer there as it was chipped and removed with no community consultation,” he said.
“It saddens me to lose local living history like this.”
The Education Department was contacted for comment.
First published in the Western Port News – 6 September 2023
