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ALDEN WILLIAMS/The Press
Mourners gather at the scene of the fatal accident on Tuesday.
An arborist who died when a tree he was working on fell in Christchurch’s Hagley Park on Monday was a father of a young child.
Maximilian Freudenberg died after the tree came down while he was high in its branches.
Freudenberg is believed to have been in his 30s and worked for Treetech, a company that provides experienced professionals to look after trees.
Freudenberg was European and had a young child with a Kiwi woman.
On a Facebook post the woman said she had told whānau in Christchurch of a tangihanga for Freudenberg at Rehua Marae this weekend.
The woman said she would share more about his service when details around whānau flying in were confirmed.
The Press
The base of the tree appeared to be largely hollowed out, with very few roots.
Freudenberg died just before 10am on Monday morning.
The tree in question was at least 20m high, and the exposed base of the fallen trunk appeared to show it was partly hollow and had few roots. The hole in the ground where the tree had stood appeared to be shallow and barely disturbed.
A WorkSafe investigation is now under way.
The city council has refused to answer questions about the tree, including on its health, what species it was, whether there were any concerns about it, or how often trees in the park are assessed.
There are more than 7000 trees within Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens.
The Press
A section of Hagley Park near the croquet club was cordoned off following the incident.
Within hours of the incident, news of Freudenberg’s death had begun to circulate in the tight-knit arborist community.
Chas Kent, from Christchurch company Total Trees, said many arborists knew him and said the accident was a “tragic circumstance”.
The New Zealand Arboricultural Association (NZ Arb) said it was deeply saddened by the news of the tragedy.
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