An Armadale resident says a large tree at Matron Olive Galliers Park has appeared unhealthy for the 12 years she has lived by the park, after a major branch snapped off in the early hours of Sunday, January 10.
AnnaMaria Bowler said her husband heard a loud crack at about 1am when the branch fell.
“It was huge. We couldn’t believe the size of it,” Mrs Bowler said.
She said the tree appeared unhealthy and had visible cracks in its trunk.
“It’s an old tree and has got cracks in it,” she said.
“When you get rain, it goes down the crack, it dries out and expands then that’s what happens – it comes down.”
Mrs Bowler said another branch from the same tree had fallen two or three years ago, which the couple also heard.
City of Armadale chief executive Joanne Abbiss said the fallen limb was about 700 millimetres in diameter and was believed to have broken due to a combination of high easterly winds and the structural condition of the branch.
“The city responded promptly to assess the situation at Matron Olive Galliers Park,” Ms Abbiss said.
“Following the broken branch, the city engaged a qualified arborist to undertake a detailed inspection, which identified evidence of internal decay and the arborist made recommendations for ongoing management and monitoring.”
She said the immediate area around the tree was cordoned off while preventative pruning works recommended by the arborist were undertaken.
Once the work was completed, the tree would be reassessed to determine whether further action or ongoing management was required.
Ms Abbiss said the tree was visually inspected and pruned annually as part of routine powerline clearance activities.
She said inspections across the city were prioritised based on reported concerns, recommendations for ongoing management, whether trees were subject to tree preservation orders or if they were in high-use community and administration areas.
When asked how many reports of damaged or fallen trees the city had received between 2020 and 2025 to identify any pattern, Ms Abbiss did not provide a yearly breakdown.
Instead, she said the city received reports each year, with causes varying depending on weather conditions and seasonal events.
According to the city’s management of existing trees webpage, tree removal would occur if an unacceptable risk was identified, and where possible a new tree would be planted as a replacement.
