I cried when the council cut down my tree. I did not see that coming

July 27, 2026 — 11:45am

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For 27 years, a huge dense-canopied Harpephyllum caffrum, a South African Wild Plum (or a tree with a ridiculous number of leaves that always landed in my backyard), stood on the pavement outside my house.

It was, by any measure, just a very, very old and elegant tree, owned by the city long before I arrived, so technically it’s not mine.

It gave my house shade, a canopy and some dappled ambience. Turns out it was also propping up something I hadn’t clocked until now: a sense of home.

I want to be clear that I did not think of this tree often. I did not hug it. I did not know its Latin name until council’s notice arrived and informed me of it, almost as an afterthought, the way you may meet a friend’s family at their funeral.

A few weeks ago, council decided that my tree was in poor health and, this week, the tree-people took a buzzy chainsaw to it. What’s left is a stump the size of a small car, awaiting its own removal. Soon there’ll be........

© Brisbane Times