Wild weather buffeting the deep south during the last few days has caused a large mature tree to fall in Invercargill’s Queens Park.

The tree, estimated to be 100-years-old, fell around midday on Wednesday (2nd Aug).

Invercargill City Council Parks and Recreation manager, Caroline Rain, said residents were asked to steer clear of area surrounding the duck pond, while staff worked to clear the damaged tree and assess others for potential damage.

“Invercargill has enjoyed a pretty mild winter, but August has certainly started with a cold snap."

"Extremely high winds and very wet weather during July have caused a large tree to fall into the duck pond,” she said.

“The tree is a big one, its rootball is about six metres wide and we estimate it is 100 years old."

"Unfortunately, we believe due to the ground being so saturated, the rootball of the tree has unexpectedly destabilised, which has caused it to come down."

"Trees which fall in these circumstances are very hard to assess for risk, as the damage occurs underground and therefore is not immediately visible.”

Rain said Parks staff responded on-site immediately, with their first priority being to ensure the safety of the community.

"Not only do we need to clear the tree, we also have to repair damage to the paths and drains around the pond,” Rain said.

“We are [also] using this as an opportunity to rejuvenate this area of the park."

"Several trees about the same age have had historical failure issues, which means proactive removal is the best option while our heavy machinery is on-site,” she said.

“A number of these are also on the city’s flight path, so they would have been scheduled for removal in the next few years as well.”

Council staff would advise the community when it was safe to return to the duck pond.

The tree was expected to be cleared today (3rd Aug) and staff would also assess any damage to the pond and nearby path.

A small area was likely to remain closed to the public until repairs were made, she said.