A council proposal to remove 34 kurrajong trees from the local cemetery has left the community with more questions than answers, finding little reasoning for the $43,000 project. 

The local council discussed the removal of the 34 trees that line the cemetery in September, citing that “they are unsightly, not in a proper tree avenue and could pose a threat to nearby graves and roads due to its root system”. 

However Narromine Local History Group volunteer Norma Meadley said that the important and well-established trees aren’t posing a threat, and certainly not enough to start from scratch with planting.

“I’ve been out to take photos. They say they’re not in line and that they’re destroying headstones but we can’t see any evidence of that,” Mrs Meadley said. 

While council has opened up submissions - which have now closed - on their website for consultation, Mrs Meadley fears locals won’t flock there with their concerns for the trees like they do to social media. 

“People have a tendency to put a comment on Facebook but when you ask them to do a submission they don’t do it so I’m not sure what the response will be. Apparently there were 6000 hits on it on Facebook though,” Mrs Meadley said. 

Under the proposal the 34 trees will be removed at a cost of $34,000, with a further $9,000 to replace them with water gums, much like the replacement already completed at the Trangie cemetery. 

The Trangie replacement of trees were due to ‘irrecoverable stress from previous drought’, and the Narromine kurrajongs are starting to see similar damage. 

Some in the community believe that the damage caused to both trees are obvious signs of spray drift from nearby farms, an issue which was brought up about local trees - particularly peppercorn trees - dying two years ago and has divided the community ever since.

Cause of the damage aside, Mrs Meadley believes that replacing the large trees with ones that need to grow would be a disservice to the cemetery. 

“Those trees are offering shade when you go up to the cemetery. When you go out there for a funeral, some shade is the first thing you look for. Those trees have been there for a long long time and they’re hardy trees,” Mrs Meadley said. 

Council says that tree roots could damage graves. (Image: Norma Meadley)

Narromine Shire Council Mayor Craig Davies said consultation from the community will be considered when the final decision is made, with nothing set in stone. 

“We’ve been through a similar situation at Trangie where some of the existing trees were starting to disturb some of the graves there which is not a situation we’d like,” Cr Davies said. 

“At this point, it’s all about listening to the community and coming up with the best decision,” he said. 

The next council meeting for the shire is set for December 7, where locals are expecting a decision to be made.