Historic Norfolk pines receive heritage listing

The iconic avenues of Norfolk Island pine trees that line the streets of Port Fairy have been protected in the Victorian Heritage Register.

The 269 trees, which were planted in the nature strips of the roads bounded by Gipps Street to Victoria Street, Campbell Street, Albert Street and Regent Street define the original 1843 town plan of Belfast, now known as Port Fairy.

The first recorded public plantings of Norfolk Island Pines in Port Fairy occurred in 1869 when the Presbyterian Church in William Street established an avenue of ten trees, of which four survive. Many more planting occurred over the year, including a large planting in 1903 when the Council and community planted 109 trees, including many of the Norfolk Island Pines, in Gipps Street.

The Heritage report says the Norfolk Island Pine avenues at Port Fairy are of historic, aesthetic and social significance to the state of Victoria because they are one of the oldest surviving street plantings using a single native species to mark the occupied boundaries of a township.

"They are also of significance as the precursor to a theme of avenue planting that was widely adopted in Victoria," the report says.

More information:

• Heritage Report