Currumbin, Gold Coast: Aussie bloke, 70, refuses to come down from tree over neighbourhood dispute
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Bitter neighborhood dispute erupts when elderly homeowner climbs a tree and refuses to come down during a dispute over a fence: ‘I’m here as my last resort’
- Man prevented them from cutting 10-meter brush
- The arborists arrived at his home in Currumbin, Gold Coast
- The tree crosses the border between man and his neighbor
- The man was in the tree for an hour before the police took him down
An elderly man has refused to come down from a 10 meter tree in his front yard after tree trimmers with chainsaws arrived to cut it down.
Norm Duke, 70, climbed through native undergrowth moments before arborists arrived at his property in Currumbin, a seaside suburb on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
His neighbors want to cut down the large tree to build a fence around their property, however Mr. Duke warns that the move will have dire consequences.
He claims that removal of the brush box, which has roots under the property, would destabilize the very steep slope on which his house stands.
“Their removal will destabilize the very steep slope here,” he said. 9News.
“We are not opposed to the fence, at least not to the partial fence, we just don’t agree with cutting down the tree.”
Norm Duke, 70, (pictured) scaled native undergrowth moments before arborists arrived at his property in Currumbin, a coastal suburb on Queensland’s Gold Coast, to cut it down.
Duke, a botanical researcher, said he climbed the tall brush box as a “last resort.”
He refused to leave his position until the loppers left and was involved in tense negotiations with police after an officer climbed on his roof.
After an hour had passed, Mr. Duke agreed to come down from the tree, much to the relief of the paramedics and fire crews below.
“They were about to cut it and they were trying to do it. We were trying to get legal help, but it was going to be a long time coming,” she said.
The local council and the police will continue discussions about the fate of the tree.
Duke declined to disclose whether he would climb the tree if the clippers returned.
Duke, a botanical researcher, said he climbed the 10-meter brush box as a “last resort.”
The large brush box straddles the line between your house and neighbors and has roots butting up the base of your cliffside property.
“I’m not going to say it,” he told reporters at the scene.
‘Who knows what you do when you’re desperate or worried about something.’
A Twitter user, who had been tutored by Mr Duke at the University of Queensland, left a message of support for the researcher.
‘Come on Norm! I remember you from your days lecturing at UQ. If anyone knows about coastal plant ecology, it’s you!’ they tweeted.