<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hornsby council is investigating the suspected poisoning of a turpentine tree, thought to be around 100 years old, in Thornleigh, on Sydney's upper north shore.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The council has tied a banner to the tree on Goodlands Avenue, which states, "This tree has been poisoned", and urges anyone with information about what happened to the tree to come forward.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The turpentine tree is one of the dominant species of the critically endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest, which has only 0.5 percent of its original distribution remaining.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The unique ecological community is present in several suburbs within the Hornsby shire, including Thornleigh, and is protected under both NSW and Commonwealth legislation.  </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A spokesperson for Hornsby Council said the tree had been assessed by two council aborists who found eight drill holes in the trunk.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Assessment of the upper canopy indicates that the tree was poisoned by the dead leaves that are retained on the branches," the spokesperson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tree was unlikely to survive, they added.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-council-erects-banner-after-centuryold-tree-poisoned-on-leafy-north-shore/dbe37fce-d478-4716-830f-244ea5bfb959" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Most of the canopy is dead, and it is unlikely the tree will recover," the spokesperson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tree's suspected poisoning was reported the council in March and aerial photography from January 2025 showed the tree in good health.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It is unknown exactly how old the tree is, however, one knowledgeable local estimated the tree was about 100 years old. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The tree can be seen as a large specimen in 1943 aerial photography, so it is more than 80 years old," the council spokesperson said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Turpentine trees typically live to about 300 years old.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tree poisoning is not an isolated incident, with the council investigating other recent indications of tree poisoning in the area, as well as across the Hornsby shire.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As the Bushland Shire, maintaining and reinforcing our tree canopy is a high priority for Council," Hornsby mayor Warren Waddell said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Our staff are investigating the circumstances behind this suspected poisoning."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some Sydney councils have gone to extreme lengths to stop suspected tree poisonings.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Last year, Lane Cove Council erected a huge banner which blocked prized views of Sydney Harbour in Longueville last September after almost 300 trees were illegally killed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Residents in Castle Cove, on Sydney's north shore, were shocked in August when </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/vandals-cut-down-poison-265-trees-near-affluent-lower-north-shore-sydney-waterfront-willowie-road/b4e01b1c-b632-42a3-900d-9bab9d0f0920"><span>265 trees were decimated</span></a><span> by a person or gang wielding a chainsaw and poison. A $10,000 reward was offered to track down those responsible.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In March, nine historic </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/balmoral-fig-trees-poisoned-drilled-mosman-council-investigates/ee34d662-d49a-47f5-939e-28533b5fd04a"><span>fig trees were poisoned at Sydney's Balmoral Beach,</span></a><span> shocking locals, however, in that case, the trees survived the attack.</span></div></div>