It is a sad reflection on the Toe-paw Council’s arrogant attitude to public opinion, that there has not been any explanation or apology for the Taupahi Road Oak tree massacre over four months ago.
Hopefully they will still be suffering more shame and disgrace from a recent inexcusable incident at the northern end of Lake Taupo when a row of mature Poplars was removed without permission.
SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed is the Manager of landscaping design at TRM) has been asked again about the fate of the ugly remains of the Red Oak tree on Taupahi Road, at the same time as a concerned Toe-paw Councillor advised as follows:
Hi Ross,
I was a little disappointed to hear that the Co-governance committee decided to chop down the tree, and I now hear from staff that the carving idea was not even tabled as an option, despite your quality submission back in January.
What happened, or is it you who should asking me?
He had previously responded on 10 January:
Hi Ross,
I absolutely love the idea of a carving, and when I heard about it did strike me as a great thing to do if at all possible. But I am not sure the spindly remnants of the tree will make for a very large or imposing carving of the shape you are putting forward, unless the middle finger is one very long one indeed…perhaps something could also be added to its top region to use the full height available? This is just artistic pedantics though, and I agree locals should decide.
And thanks for the history lesson on Turangi, now that I think of it that angler statue does ring a bell and I hadn’t realised it was missing.
TRM announce the winning entry from the chainsaw massacre.
(AKA “yew thought yew knew every plucking thing!”)
Everyone in Turangi has been waiting in anxious anticipation for the independent investigation and report from Toe-paw Council to explain the reasons they pruned (massacred?) a protected, registered mature majestic Oak tree on Taupahi Road last November.
In the meantime, TRM’s request for ideas, asking for suggestions on what Turangi might do with the remaining stump was posted on TRM’s blog. This update is to congratulate the winning entry. As his house is on Taupahi Road almost in the shadow of the remains of his favourite Oak tree, he prefers to remain anonymous. As soon as the TDC confirm they will pay for the carving, SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed is the Manager of everything except Council trees at TRM) will donate $1,000 to Ian Ashcroft (everyone knows Turangi’s arborist and landscape designer) towards providing a basic design concept and to supervise the Council paid carver. The winning entry advised his professional advice from arborists was that the tree has no hope of surviving as is and needs urgent remedial action if the stump is to be saved. His suggestion is that the proposed carving will need to be painted – primer, undercoat and topcoat – in a brilliant stand-out contrasting colour like a bright fleshy pink easily seen from SH1.
The original view of the lost Oak tree, looking north down Taupahi Road from the corner of Link Road before the Council vandals attacked.
Readers would be amazed at how the naked stump turned into a tourist attraction during the holidays. But when this winning entry is successfully endorsed and sensitively carved, the tourist potential is far greater. It would be unique in the region and New Zealand.
Many tourist visitors and others with holiday homes in the Taupahi Road vicinity could not believe the Council could be so belligerent – to massacre a “registered” protected landmark tree without any forward warning to nearby residents, no consultation, no works plan or order number, etc. The remaining stump is more than an ugly eyesore. It is another clear confirmation of how poorly Toe-paw treats our cute little leafy village of Turangi. Perhaps they were jealous of all the deciduous trees that are such an attractive visual feature marking the seasons in Turangi. It was unforgivable.
Now it is past time for TDC to APPROVE AND PAY for TRM’s innovative proposal to convert the sad ugly stump into a unique sculpture of classic beauty that will win the hearts and minds of all the lovely folk in Turangi and become a major SH1 tourist attraction for the region. Warning to Council – more tourist parking will be needed. To satisfy the likely demand from tourists, it could also be a suitable opportunity to rebuild the toilets that the Council demolished and never replaced next to the coffee cart about 15 years ago. The Council owe Turangi a significant carved emblem to replace the giant angler statue that was demolished further south on SH1 (see photo below) and has not been replaced. They did promise it would be re-erected in a prominent position but their recent loss of memory is typical of the way Turangi is disregarded or ignored. In such a relatively young town, these local emblems are important, even if TDC do not care.
The remaining shape is perfect to design a giant carving of a majestic one-fingered salute.
This is not derogatory or insulting as it would be no more offensive than the giant totem pole the Council erected on Lake Taupo foreshore. It would certainly generate more international interest and attract more tourist photos than that carved pole.
The history of such a monument goes back to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. It would be a visual reminder to the Toe-paw Council forever, to remind everyone of their blatant indiscretion.
The one-finger gesture dates back to ancient Greece and was also used in ancient Rome. Historically, it was supposed to represent a phallus. TRM’s winning entry represents a simple modern artistic format as a perfect example of what Turangi folk think of Toe-paw. Council can interpret it as how they peed on Turangi. Everyone wins!
Why is the one-finger salute called the bird? Birds had been synonymous with taunting long before the mid-20th century. When the middle finger’s popularity grew once more, it became known as a wordless version of the goose-like honks and hisses of displeasure preferred by Brits and other Europeans.
Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, threatened to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger, it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as ‘plucking the yew’ (or ‘pluck yew’), Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew!
The Americans refer to it as “flipping the bird”. Over the decades Americans have since revised the wording – the ‘pluck yew’ is now “f**K you” and the words were often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as ‘giving the bird.’
And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing!
Turangi chainsaw massacre…
To try to keep readers and absentee rate-payers (i.e. many non-residents have holiday homes in Turangi) up-to-date with the Council’s response to the “pruning” (destruction?) of the mature majestic Oak tree on Taupahi Road, next to TRM about two weeks ago…
Eventually they replied:
From: Andrew Moor <amoor@taupo.govt.nz>
Subject: RE: Taupo Council vandalism?
Date: 28 November 2024
To: “ross@tongarirorivermotel.co.nz” <ross@tongarirorivermotel.co.nz>
“Good morning – your query regarding the ‘pruning’ of the Oak Tree on Taupahi Road has been forwarded to me to respond. Apologies for the delay in this. It appears that the cause of this, has been an error in communication (?). The contractor undertaking the works began felling the entire tree. Once Council was notified of the extent of the work, it was placed on hold. Currently an independent investigation is underway looking into how this occurred and what is required to ensure this does not happen again. There is no other work in regard to heavy pruning or removals planned on Taupahi Road currently. Once the independent investigation has been completed more information will be made available to the community.”
So you can interpret that however you like. This is obviously more than just another “communications error”. These staff are supposed to have a formal procedure to follow to avoid such “accidents”. Taupo Council Parks Department has a set policy for pricing everything before proceeding with the purchase or job – so a contractor prices a job, parks approves the job and issues an order number and works order for the approved work. Only then does the contractor carry out the work as per that works order. How can there be any miscommunication? Unless, of course, the contractor isn’t required to quote on the work and, in that case, how do they know the ratepayer is getting value for money? Look at the team involved. Residents need to be informed how much $$$ this has cost so far as there is now the ugly stump to remove.
I wonder if Andrew Moor or any Council officials have the courage and responsibility to meet to explain verbally to residents. They deserve a roasting!
