Key Points
- Juvenile giant sequoias, approximately five to seven years old, were planted at St David’s Park in Hobart on Friday, 13 November 2026 to mark the centenary of the park as a public park.
- The replacement trees were planted during the free centenary garden party on Davey Street, which was attended by many people and Charles Wooley, the Lord Mayor of Hobart.
- These trees take the place of two 88-year-old giant sequoias which were taken down in April 2026 after suffering through a lengthy period of poor health due to fires, vandals, soil pollution, soil compaction, leaking irrigation and disease-causing fungi.
- The original trees had been planted in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and were heritage-listed.
- The new sequoias have been positioned in another part of the park in order to increase the availability of sunlight in the open space area while still providing enough room for the trees to grow.
- According to Sean Black, who is the City of Hobart’s open spaces manager, the young trees are expected to take 15 to 20 years to mature and they will be closely monitored during the process.
- Over 60 applications were received for the reuse of the timber from the trees; 25 projects were provided with timber for community, cultural, educational, artistic and scientific purposes.
- The centenary events included Devonshire tea, a brass band playing in the rotunda in the Victorian era, heritage talks, period costumes performers and the planting ceremony.
- St David’s Park initially served as a burial ground since 1804 but the cemetery ceased to operate in 1872 and the site was opened up as a public park in 1926.
St Davids (Wales Times) November 14, 2026 — Hobart’s St David’s Park has marked 100 years as a public park with the planting of two young giant sequoias, replacing two historic trees removed earlier this year after they could not be saved.
As reported by Sophie Jaggers of ABC News, dozens of people gathered at the Davey Street park on Friday for a garden party and watched one of the two new giant sequoias being planted. The replacement trees, aged between five and seven years, were planted to commemorate the park’s centenary.
The event also featured a brass band performing in the park’s Victorian-era rotunda, Devonshire tea and actors in period costume. Pulse Tasmania reported that Hobart Lord Mayor Charles Wooley joined the ceremonial planting during the free community celebration.
Why were the original sequoias removed?
The two original giant sequoias had stood in St David’s Park since 1937, when they were planted to mark the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. According to ABC News, the trees were heritage-listed and had become major features of the park before their removal.
As reported by Pulse Tasmania, the City of Hobart confirmed in March that both trees had died following more than two years of decline associated with fire damage, soil contamination and fungal disease. The council said a soil treatment intended to revive their roots did not succeed.
The City of Hobart had earlier identified a combination of pressures on the trees, including repeated fires reaching the canopy, contaminants and fire-retardant foam entering the soil, removal of topsoil to address hazardous debris, soil compaction, irrigation leaks causing saturation, and fungal pathogens.
Mr Black told ABC News that removing the trees was an “extremely difficult” decision for the council. “Unfortunately, they declined quite rapidly, so they had to be removed,” he said.
The dead trees were removed for safety reasons in April. ABC News reported that they had been affected by vandalism and fire, alongside other factors that contributed to their decline.
What will happen to the old timber?
The council has sought to ensure that the removed trees continue to have a public legacy. Following their removal, Hobart City Council received more than 60 applications to repurpose the timber for projects including artistic sculptures, outdoor seating, musical instruments and scientific research.
As reported by Pulse Tasmania, the timber was distributed to community groups, schools and local artists through an expressions-of-interest process. Mr Black said some of the timber would eventually return to the community through projects created by the recipients.
The City of Hobart said in September that 25 successful recipients had been awarded timber from the historic trees. The council said the projects would extend beyond the arts, with researchers set to examine atmospheric radiocarbon records preserved in the trees’ growth rings.
One large section of timber has been allocated to local carver Andrew Evans, known online as the “Constant Whittler”, who is to create a large-scale sculpture for one of Hobart’s parks. The council has also said timber will be used for new interpretive elements on the Hobart waterfront, sharing Palawa and other local stories.
How were the new trees chosen and placed?
The replacement sequoias are significantly younger than the trees they replace. ABC News reported that they are between five and seven years old, while the removed trees were 88 years old.
The new trees have been planted in a different location within St David’s Park. Mr Black said the change was intended to allow more sunlight into the park, where council staff had noticed increased use of the open space since the older trees were removed.
“We’re really conscious of making sure that we could still get the trees into the park to give them space to grow because they are large trees,” Mr Black told ABC News. “But at the same time, provide open space and natural light so people can enjoy the space.”
Pulse Tasmania reported that the city’s horticultural team would monitor the young sequoias over the next two to three years, with tree guards installed to protect them as they establish.
Mr Black told ABC News that the council’s arboriculture team would keep a close watch on the trees. “They’ll take 15 to 20 years to start maturing,” he said. “At this stage it’s about protection of the trees and making sure they get established. I think they should grow quite well there.”
What did the centenary celebration include?
The celebration marked a century since St David’s Park reopened as a public park in 1926. ABC News reported that the site had originally been established as a burial ground in 1804, before the cemetery closed in 1872 and later fell into a period of disrepair.
The City of Hobart’s event programme said the garden party ran from 10:00am to 1:00pm on Friday, 13 November. It included Devonshire tea, a performance by the Tasmanian Heritage String Ensemble, an official welcome, a heritage talk by local historian Brendan Lennard and the ceremonial planting of the two young sequoias.
Interstate visitors Anne, Phillip and Terence attended the event to learn more about the park’s history. ABC News reported that Anne said she had been interested by the headstones in the memorial wall and the ages of many people buried there.
Hobart residents Roseanna and Chris were also among those attending. ABC News reported that Roseanna described the loss of the original sequoias as sad, noting that the trees had died before reaching 100 years of age.
“Those trees were young in their lifetime,” Roseanna said, according to ABC News. “It’s lovely to see the younger sequoias. It’d be interesting to see what else will go in here.”
What does the replanting mean for the park?
Mr Black said the replanting carried personal as well as civic significance. “My children have grown up in Hobart and have played under those trees,” he told ABC News. “To be part of replacing those trees and putting some in place for another 100 years to let other people’s children enjoy them is quite special.”
Lord Mayor Charles Wooley also spoke about his connection to the park. As reported by Pulse Tasmania, he said he had spent time there as a child and university student, met his first wife nearby, and now visits with his children and grandchildren.
Wooley described St David’s Park as “a navel of our city in a sense, the centre of everything”. Pulse Tasmania reported that he called the loss of the original sequoias “very sad”.
The centenary celebration fell during Wooley’s first weekend officially serving as Hobart’s Lord Mayor. Pulse Tasmania reported that he described his role as representing residents to the council and the council to the community.
Background of the development
St David’s Park is a historic public space in central Hobart, on Davey Street. It began as a burial ground in 1804 and closed as a cemetery in 1872, before reopening as a public park in 1926.
The two giant sequoias removed in 2026 had been planted in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The City of Hobart said the trees were heritage-listed and had grown to more than 30 metres in height, with circumferences of more than 8.5 metres at their bases.
The council first reported signs of decline in autumn 2025. Despite repeated intervention attempts, it determined in March 2026 that the trees were beyond saving and removed them the following month.
Prediction: What it means for Hobart residents
For Hobart residents and park users, the replanting is likely to shape the character of St David’s Park over the coming decades. The young sequoias will initially appear small beside the park’s established trees, but the council expects them to take 15 to 20 years to begin maturing.
In the shorter term, residents may notice a more open and sunlit central space, a change Mr Black said had already encouraged greater use of the park. The council’s decision to balance tree growth with public access suggests that future landscaping will need to accommodate both the eventual size of giant sequoias and everyday recreational use.
For local community groups, schools, artists and researchers, the reuse of timber from the removed trees may create visible and lasting connections to the park’s history. The council’s allocation of timber to 25 projects indicates that the trees’ legacy is expected to extend beyond St David’s Park into public art, education, cultural interpretation and scientific research.
For visitors and heritage organisations, the new planting also restores a symbolic link to the park’s 1937 royal commemoration, while creating a new chapter in its long history as a public gathering space.
