Spot the difference… This is Taupahi Road south of Tongariro River Motel.

The contrast between summer foliage and autumn is striking but by the time summer arrived, one tree went missing? The nearest houses are either rented out or holiday homes so the owners could not be as alert as nearby residents.
These trees are an important feature of this road – the original north-south road before SH1 was moved to bypass the Taupahi village. The row of mature Oaks provides such a pleasant residential atmosphere enhancing all nearby properties.
So when the council decide to remove one without the residents’ knowledge, they understandably get upset. Then they increase concerns when they do it again. Then they blame “communication issues”?

TRM has been here for over 65 years and watched Taupahi Road trees mature and create an ambience that is rare to find in any other suburb. Other towns envy us. The old photos immediately identify any changes. It appears the council – based at Taupo fifty km north – are determined to systematically destroy this leafy paradise and convert our slice of Paradise into another sterile south Auckland-style soulless concrete jungle.

They prefer to replant native trees that do not shed leaves or change colour with the seasons. In this central plateau region we are surrounded by thousands of hectares of natural native foliage to enjoy in three adjacent National Parks so we do not need to add more in suburbia. Residents adore the deciduous nature of this location. Tourist solve them even more.
Can you believe that in the last year or so, over one hundred mature deciduous trees have been removed from Turangi residential streets. Is it lunacy or what?

To provide some background below is a previous TRM blog on this issue…

April 29, 2023

Where would you rather live?

TREES! There are two camps in Turangi. There appears to be no middle ground. There are them that likes ’em and them that hates ’em.

This local issue was as much about the trees, as the leaves. At this time of year, the deciduous varieties lose their leaves and for some people, the fallen leaves create so much extra cleaning-up work, they are a curse.

To others, the leaves are just beautiful. A visual reminder of the seasons with colder winter approaching, a colourful changing vista to enjoy.

The enhancement of residential lifestyle benefits is obvious. They look fantastic. That adds huge $ value. No argument. These wonderful deciduous European giants provide shelter and shade during the hot summer months and let the light and warm sun through in winter. They provide a warm snuggly feeling of calm maturity like a security blanket along the town streets.

After a storm a few mature trees can create problems. Taupahi Road was just one of many that was blocked after the last major storm but fortunately wide enough for cars to drive around the edges. With all trees there is always an issue of falling branches which could be dangerous.

So a couple of years ago the Toe-paw council decided the mature deciduous trees had to go. They called it “The Turangi Street Revitalisation Project”. (Revitalisation?) After fifty-plus years the original MOW (Ministry of Works planners designed the town) landscaping featuring deciduous trees to provide an ideal residential setting, was proving too much trouble. Some of their roots had fractured water pipes and footpaths.

Toe-paw Council’s golden opportunity arrived to fund the project – $6.5 million from the Government’s shovel-ready fund to replace all the old street gutters as well. Some rejoiced. Others were sad. The original plan was for about 94 trees to be removed according to the newspaper report (- repeated below). Most residents did not realise that was just “Stage 1”. Now we are told the total is over 500!

Confession: We retired (?) on the more obsolete pleasant eastern side of Turangi which is unaffected (???) by the Turangi Street Revitalisation Project, where we worship our mature trees, so we have to be like Switzerland and cannot comment either for or against the council plan. But I also trust you can read between the lines…

As a change from the Tongariro River Trail, Juno took me for her morning walkies around suburbia to try to photo the “before-and-after” scenarios. These images are to try to compare some suburban streets. The underground power was already in place – in fact, Turangi was the first town in NZ with underground power reticulation installed. (We live in the old side of Turangi that was known as Taupahi, with the usual leaning lamp-posts supporting sagging wires that have been here over 70 years, since the 1950s.)

Please do not forget to admire the new gutters and drains. Very swish. So where would you rather live?

Many of the adjoining houses now have several years’ supply of oak and elms for firewood stacked up in their front yards. There are not many streets remaining with any vacant land for new housing. The Government and Council architectural planners must be very chuffed with their contemporary modern look – clean sharp profiles in their exciting new state housing project (without being spoilt with street views obliterated by horrible leafy trees) below.

(Above is the Government’s latest exciting attractive architect-designed new state-of-the-art contemporary residential development in Turangi. OK – I know we should be thankful, but surely they can design better-looking houses than these. Remember, you paid for it!)

At this time of the year, between seasons, so many tourist visitors comment on how fortunate Turangi is, to witness the seasons changing so vividly. These tourists’ opinions are important as tourism is still the economic future for this village. (Forestry was also right up there until the last cyclone) They are referring to the leafy falling parade of colours of course.

But when we reluctantly confess the council is removing about 500 of them they are so shocked. They cannot believe any council would be so silly as to deliberately destroy the visual character and heart and soul of the town. They tell us the reputation of other tourist towns – i.e. Cambridge or Arrowtown – relies largely on the deciduous yellow-bronze-gold-red colour parade at this time of the year. They stress that without the trees Turangi’s reputation will suffer and revert to being like any other tired struggling small town. Then when we try to apologise for our Council’s plans and to explain how most of the councillors who made those decisions to remove over 500 trees for Turangi’s revitalisation project don’t live here, they shake their heads in sorrow.

(Above photo pinched off the Turangi fb noticeboard. Try to picture it without the leafy canopy…)

The local newspaper reported in May 2021:

Tūrangi trees come down as street revitalisation project ramps up

By Rachel Canning

Tree felling in Rangipoia Place.

Photo / Laurilee McMichael

The pain and the pleasure.

Some Tūrangi residents are living in a construction zone as 94 trees are removed as part of a project to replace crumbling kerb and channelling.

Taupō District Council was awarded $6.5 million from the Government’s shovel-ready fund and work on the Tūrangi Street Revitalisation Project began in February.

With the deciduous trees a blaze of autumn colour, some residents expressed regret that a number of the trees being removed are in their prime. Others have acknowledged while the trees are beautiful, they were planted in an unsuitable spot.