Maggie FolletONE of Wellington’s largest and oldest oak trees in front of historic Bain House blew down during the strong South Easter which blasted the town two weeks ago.
The massive tree, which had been damaged by a reckless driver a few months previously, fell across Bain Street, entirely blocking the road.
It narrowly missing the newly completed gables of the Piano Factory complex.
Attempts to remove the tree that night were hampered by a huge beehive, and work resumed the following morning, but due to the unavailability of the local “bee man”, municipal officials at the scene were forced to poison the bees, in order to get near the tree.
It took a team of 22 municipal workers (with chainsaws, trucks, a tractor and “cherry picker”) several hours to clear the road, eventually leaving only the severed stump of one of the town’s most majestic oaks.
