The Napier-Taradale area has well known collections of Phoenix palms, prompting one newspaper editorial on the story of these palms to comment, ‘this palm-amenity is part of Napier’s southern-California Art Deco schtick’ [1]. This does not mean however that the palms cannot fall prey to arguments for removal, which is what happened to five of the original ten palms along Church Rd and in front of Taradale Primary School. Originally planted on Arbor day in New Zealand centennial year 1940, five of the palms immediately in front of the school were removed in April 2018 due to arguments that they obscured the sight of parents picking up schoolchildren, and due to risks from falling fronds [2]. There was resistance from some local residents, one pointing out that there had been no recorded accidents from frond-fall, but ultimately the Napier City Council acted on the concerns of the school board and removed the five palms in front of the school [3]. At least the remaining five, at 83 years, are healthy and well-maintained, still contributing to Napier’s ‘palm-amenity’ (Lloyd, M., 2023).

References:
1. ‘Editorial No qualms about felling palms’, Hawkes Bay Today, 20 April, 2018.
2. ‘School speaks out on felled phoenix palms’, Hawkes Bay Today, 19 April, 2018.
3. ‘Save our trees, Taradale residents plead’, Hawkes Bay Today, 17 April, 2018.