Sadly this tree has not surviced and was cut down in 2025. But I will leave the story here, because I think it is interesting and there are people who will remember this tree too. Sometimes it helps to see what we have lost to appreciate what we have. Tree's are life, the live their cycle then they die, rejuvenate the earth and the cycle is reborn. This Belgium Elm at the Timaru Botanic Gardens split in two during the Wahine storm (the second biggest storm to strike NZ in the last century), but was managed to be rescued when a steel rod pinned the trunk back together, and the tree recovered over time. See if you can find a odd looking patch of bark where the rod was driven through.
Cyclone Giselle, more widely know as the Wahine storm. "after the Inter-island ferry TEV Wahine that sank off Wellington Heads with the tragic loss of 54 lives. The storm on 9 to 10 April 1968 caused winds of up to 150 km per hour at Wellington Airport and high seas and storm tides occurred along the east and south coasts of the North Island as the storm tracked south. Most pundits suggest that the Wahine storm was the second biggest storm to strike New Zealand last century, second only to the storm of the 2nd of February 1936 in terms of coastal damage. (Note: storms were only assigned names from 1963 onwards)." - https://niwa.co.nz/.../physical-hazards.../news/winds
