October 21st, 2025Tree of the Year at Kingston

Online voting in the National Trust 2025 Victorian Tree of the Year closes at midnight on Thursday, October 23.

Kingston locals are hoping the winner will be Kingston’s Algerian Oak, one of the nine finalists – and under threat of being cut down.
If the tree can be saved, it is hoped that will also protect the town’s 1883 bluestone Kerrins Bridge and Kerrins Streamside Reserve, Kingston’s only piece of public land.
Kingston resident Jeremy Harper said the oak, at least 130 years old, is to be cut down if the Western Renewables Link goes ahead as planned. Jeremy says one of the 85-metre towers is to be erected right next to Kerrins Bridge, an arched bluestone structure built in 1883, and as the nearby tree is directly under the proposed transmission lines, AusNet says its removal is required.
“In 2023 this oak was placed on the National Trust Register of Significant Trees because of its ‘scientific, social and aesthetic’ importance yet AusNet says ‘the loss of the tree is considered to be a low impact’.
“The National Trust listing refers to its age, size, good health and the fact that it is unmodified, having presumably never been pruned.
“The tree is near the cobblestone remains of a ford across Birchs Creek, believed to have been used by Cobb & Co coaches before the bridge was built and may have been a stopping point for the horses.”
Link: www.nationaltrust.org.au/treeoftheyear/
Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed