A sour cherry tree on the Sunshine Coast, thought to be among the most photographed in Australia, will be closed to the public from today as part of a bitter stoush with the local council.
The so-called One Tree Hill has been open to wedding and landscape photographers for decades in exchange for a donation, thanks to a scheme set up by owner Florence Woods that has raised more than $50,000 for charities.
But with some using the site for wedding ceremonies, the Sunshine Coast Council said it had received multiple complaints and responded by sending warning letters to the Woods family.
The family announced in January it would shut the site from February 1.
'It's garbage', owners say
Ms Woods' son Francis Woods said it was a frustrating situation.
"There's nothing you can do, you just have to try and do the right thing," he said.
"It will be just another argument from the council about something else if we don't shut it, as far as I'm concerned."
Mr Woods said the decision for the council to crack down on the site was "moronic".
"If you go around just below Mum's house, they sit on the outside of the fence and can have a picnic and it's all fine," he said.
"But if they went through the fence into our property, we're responsible to provide them with amenities.
"It's garbage as far as I'm concerned with bureaucracy, but the council want it."
Councillor says site was 'out of control'
Local councillor Winston Johnston said the popularity of the site had become part of the problem.
He said while there was no issue with photographers or small amounts of visitors on the site, larger ceremonies were in breach of council rules.
"It's totally unsuited to wedding ceremonies and wedding parties," he said.
"There's been complaints about cars parked all over the place — sometimes you get 20 or 30 vehicles parked and they don't park off the road.
"There's no toilet amenities, there's no car park.
"There's been instances where they've had a party or ceremony, the people have had a few drinks, and the fellows go down over the edge and use the toilet.
"And then there have been occasions when there's been extremely loud music and a lot of carrying on."
The councillor said he did not blame the Woods family, as it was "impossible" to monitor.
He said he hoped the site would eventually reopen to the public.
"I know that Mrs Woods ... she's done a fantastic job of donating all this money to community organisations," he said.
"But it's just got out of control, really.
"I'd like to see what she originally intended the whole thing [to be], to go back to that, and be used for that."
Mr Woods said he could not see the site reopening anytime soon.
"Regardless of whether there was a ceremony or not, we weren't charging for the use of it," he said.
He said there was no chance they would seek a major council approval.
