Drivers along Bells Line of Road can’t miss it. East Bilpin resident Martin Tebbutt a 50-year Bilpin property owner erected it after becoming angry at the removal of street trees he planted and had nurtured for the past two years. The Tebbutt property, along with many other residents in East Bilpin & Kurrajong Heights were burnout by the out-of-control RFS Mt Wilson backburn.

“Many trees along Bells Line Road were killed by the fire and when they were removed the place looked terrible. Much of the district has beautiful roadside trees planted by previous generations and so my wife and I planted decorative trees each side of the road for future generations to admire.” Said Martin Tebbutt.

Mt Tomah RFS Brigade celebrated World Pride Day and the Mardi Gras with the release of a video on how welcoming and inclusive their brigade is to all members of their small community. The video can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/MtTomahRFB/ The FB page commentary on the video says:

“This year’s Mardi Gras theme is “Gather, Dream, Amplify” – in line with this theme we are helping to amplify the voices of our #NSWRFS members and communities. In this video, we speak with the members of the Mt Tomah Rural Fire Brigade about the importance of creating a welcoming and supportive brigade.”

Next the Tebbutts received two anonymous abusive letters in their mailbox and one abusive phone call anonymous persons saying they hated the street trees and they needed to be removed.

So, the Tebbutts asked NSW RFS whether they were concerned about their street trees and received their second supportive letter from the RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers saying they weren’t.

Then Hawkesbury Council stepped in after receiving a complaint about the street tree planting from the Bilpin RFS Brigade President. This complaint fell on more fertile ground than the NSW RFS. The Council Administration concluded they had the legal power to remove the trees as the Tebbutt’s had not sought Council permission to plant them. The cost to ratepayers for removal of the trees was $4,602.02.

The Bilpin RFS posted information on their Facebook page making claims, Tebbutt stated, were false and misleading about the street plantings, however he was unable to respond as the comment’s icon had been disabled.

“This was the last straw. I put up my sign to let everyone know what I think about the behavior of Bilpin RFS and Council”

According to Tebbutt the sign is staying up until Bilpin RFS remove the false statements, they have made on their Facebook Page about the street trees and apologize.