The trees stood majestically in front of Tauranga's Holy Trinity church. They certainly commanded attention and comment.

And so when age, health and safety determined the trees should be felled, it happened under the withering gaze of anyone passing on the busy intersection of Devonport Road and Third Avenue.

'Everyone who went by had an opinion,” says Terry Bayley, the church's property manager and one of the team who chopped the trees down.

"But that's very, very understandable.”

After all, it was just three months ago I stood beneath those trees and marveled at them. I was saying goodbye to a deeply loved and respected Brian ‘Rabbits' Rogers. The light was dappled through the branches, the leaves rustled, people wept and a lone drummer beat out taps. A wonderfully solemn occasion in a perfect setting.

The Holy Trinity Church with a carpet of flowers below one of the trees which has since been felled. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

The Holy Trinity trees towered over the intersection, had been there for decades, and people saw them, liked them, and felt like they had ownership. So when one local spotted the tangle of branches, the sawed limbs on the ground and piles of sawdust, she messaged The Weekend Sun. 'What's going on? And why? I am both curious and concerned. Can you find out?”

Yes, we can.

There were serious issues with the trees. And the church was happy to explain its hand was forced – it was out of necessity, not choice, that the trees had to come down.

The first of two trees taken out was a Jacaranda and it was dead. 'It hadn't leafed or flowered for a couple of years,” says Terry. 'And in the removal process, when the branches fell they just shattered, flew everywhere. That was a no brainer.”

The second tree was a flowering gum.

'It had rotted on the inside and at any time could have toppled.”

The Holy Trinity trees presented problems and had to come down. Photo: Taylor Rice/SunLive.

But the tree most people were upset about was a very old Pohutukawa.

'The problem is that 30 or 40 years ago someone pruned the tree to protect the old hall. Then the tree threw up these sprouts from each of the pruning cuts and they soared 20 metres in the air, and over the hall, which we had done massive and expensive renovations to.”

It was deemed to be ugly, dangerous and threatened to damage the property.

'So we took it down bit by bit. It was quite a mission.”

And by taking down that tree, it exposed yet another tree to the very strong winds that battered the city a little more than a week ago.

'It was a beautiful tree, one we were trying to protect,” says Terry.

'But a very large branch came down in those winds, hitting a car parked on the roadside. It could have seriously hurt someone.”

Even worse.

Now the Cathedral has to determine whether that big, beautiful Pohutukawa is also at risk because there is now a large hole at the base of the tree.

The church will consult with the Tauranga City Council and its arborists and decide whether the tree which hangs over the road and footpath, is sound.

'If not, then unfortunately it will have to go as well.”

None of the trees had, or have, heritage protection.

'There are a couple, Canadian Redwoods I think, on the Third Avenue side of the property, which are heritage protected. And we go to some lengths and expense to make sure they're okay.”

And even after receiving an explanation from the arborists, passersby remained dubious.

'Some people you can't satisfy,” says Terry. 'They thought the trees should have been left alone anyway.”