3:00 PM
Members of the public have broken through barriers to grab souvenir chunks of the lone pine from Auckland's One Tree Hill.
A crowd of several hundred was watching the felling of the tree when some broke through and started grabbing pieces from fallen branches.
To keep the rest of
the crowd happy Auckland City Council officials allowed them to take small souvenirs including pine cones and parts of the branches.
A council spokeswoman says a decision will now be made on whether the public generally can have small parts of the Monterey Pine.
The trunk is all that is left standing and that will come down later this afternoon.
Workers armed with chainsaws and a helicopter have made fast work of removing the tree, limb by limb.
- IRN
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