Heritage street

The following streets are listed as heritage streets due to their historic character or landscape history:

  • Brisbane StreetChesterfield Parade Bronte and the avenue of Hill's Figs
  • Alt Street
  • Rawson Avenue
  • Manning Street
  • Chesterfield Parade
  • Avoca Street
  • Flood Street
  • Francis Street (Wellington to Denham Street)
  • Oceanview Avenue

Streetscape Character

Most of the tree plantings date back to the 1930’s and are located in wide streets either in the roadways with semi-circular cut-outs e.g. Rawson Avenue or in the middle of wide naturestrips.

Dominant Trees

Common name Botanical name
Camphor Laurel innamomum camphora
Hills Fig icus microphylla var ‘Hillii’
Port Jackson Fig Ficus rubiginosa
Brushbox Lophostemon confertus
Poplar Populus nigra ‘Italica’
Paperbark Melaleuca quinquenervia
New Zealand Christmas Bush Metrosideros excelsa

Issues and Considerations

  • Many of these heritage listed trees were planted during the 1930’s and have been assessed on the database as over-mature or senescent
  • A number of these over-mature trees could be classified as hazardous due to their poor to fair condition or structural defects. These hazards have been exacerbated by previous poor pruning practices; excessive pruning of roots for road re-surfacing or repairs to kerbs and gutters
  • Additional streets with impressive avenues of trees could be nominated for heritage listing to ensure their protection e.g. Onslow Street
  • Some existing trees have raised or exposed surface roots that have been damaged by road and footpath construction and repairs

Strategies

  • Maintain and enhance the existing stock of heritage trees
  • Increase and expand the number of heritage listed street trees
  • Ensure that plantings are sympathetic to the heritage values of the built environment

Actions

  • Use the street tree database to determine the health and condition of each tree listed in heritage streets and their projected lifespan using the SULE method (Safe Useful Life Expectancy)
  • Individually assess these trees and prioritise an action plan for each street for renewal/replacement
  • Using current replacement costs, estimate projected costs and seek funding
  • Assess other streets for planting of potential heritage trees
  • Investigate the use of specially constructed tree pits for replacement trees in heritage streets to minimise potential root damage
  • Choose trees from the accompanying table of potential heritage trees.

Preferred Tree Species

Size Common name Botanical name
Medium
(6 to 12 metres) 		Coastal Banksia Banksia integrifolia
Tuckeroo Cupaniopsis anacardioides
Waterhousea Waterhousea floribunda
Smooth Barked Apple Angophora costata
Large
(over 12 metres) 		Cook Island Pine or New Caledonia PineAraucaria columnaris *
Norfolk Island Pine Araucaria heterophylla
Port Jackson Fig Ficus rubiginosa
Cabbage Tree Palm Livistona australis
Brushbox Lophostemon confertus
Fine-leafed PaperbarkMelaleuca leucadendra *
Paperbark Melaleuca quinquenervia
 Cotton Palm Washingtonia robusta

* = may only be available from specialist native nurseries