Tree falls in strong winds

By Rebecca Fraser
A STRONG gust of wind blew a 30-metre high tree over in Endeavour Hills just before Christmas, with one resident left thankful no one had been hurt.
Brian Frary contacted the News following the strong winds and even took some photos of the mammoth tree after it fell in a walkway behind his Monkhouse Drive home.
The Endeavour Hills resident said there had been a huge gust of wind about 10.30pm on Friday, 23 December and the following morning the conifer, which has a 1.7-metre wide trunk, had been blown down.
“It was fortunate that it occurred at night as the footpath is well used during the day,” he said.
“It is a public footpath and children walk along there to go to school and many people walk along there and exercise.
“When I heard the wind I thought we would be in for a wild night.
“Surprisingly, despite its size, there was very little damage.”
Mr Frary has lived in Endeavour Hills for 25 years and said he had often wondered whether the tree would blow over and into his yard.
“I often thought that if a south west wind came it would hit my house, but it was actually a west wind and hit my neighbour’s garden.
“They missed the pergola but hit the fountain.
“It is just lucky that no one was hurt,” he said.