It might have seemed like a good idea to plant Norfolk Island hibiscus trees on the Bermagui golf course and around the town 20 years ago, but now it is time for the trees to go.
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That a Bermagui nursery was selling the trees back in the late 1980s made the situation worse and now the the noxious trees that can harm children are spreading all the way up the Bermagui River, crowding out vulnerable native species.
Bermagui Country Club is working with South East Local Land Services and the Bega Valley Shire Council to eradicate the trees from the golf course, with more than 200 removed already and another 100 or so to go.
Related story: Bermagui Country Club undertakes tree program on golf course
Local Land Services officer Sonia Bazzacco is hoping to spread the eradication message to all property owners and residents, asking them to identify and remove any of the Norfolk Island hibiscus trees from their gardens and properties.
Ms Bazzacco said councils around Australia were also actively removing their trees, while there was even a petition calling for the trees to be removed in South Australia.
Sometimes called the “itchy powder tree”, the seed pods had a nasty fibreglass-like fibre that once airborne could impact on children’s eyes and limbs, while the pollen could also cause allergies.
The introduced trees also spread quickly through the environment reducing biodiversity of native species.
They had already been found in isolated patches up the Bermagui River where they were impacting on endangered ecological communities such as coastal saltmarsh and swamp oak forest, and also potentially mangroves, she said.
“An assessment done for the Bermagui estuary has identified the removal of Norfolk Island hibiscus from low-lying areas as a high priority,” Ms Bazzacco said.
“There has been a massive seed source here in town and those seeds have spread up river where isolated patches have been identified, but it’s still at a manageable level and that’s why we need to act now.”
The tree management committee at the Bermagui Country Club has already taken action cutting down hundreds of the trees with more to go.
Committee member Derek Quinto said it had been a big job but the golf course was looking a lot better and tidier with replacement native trees such as broadleaf paperbark already planted.
It was a collaborative effort between the Bermagui Country Club, South East Local Land Services and the Bega Valley Shire Council.
Ms Bazzacco said now that the golf course had been cleared, the next move was to use State and Federal government funding to remove the trees from council land and also up the Bermagui River.
If you think you have Norfolk Island hibiscus trees in your garden or on your property, please contact the SE LLS office on 4475 1006 or sonia.bazzacco@lls.nsw.gov.au for advice.