By ANNA USHER

Mosman Council will spend $125,000 installing CCTV cameras along the Balmoral foreshore after a replacement fig tree was snapped just six weeks after it was planted.

The security cameras, to be placed between the Tram Shed and Raglan St, will not be monitored live. Footage will be reviewed only after an incident occurs.

Councillors voted unanimously to set up the devices after repeated fig tree damage on The Esplanade.

A new banner, measuring 3.5m x 1.5m, will also be reinstalled at the vandalism site.

The historic trees have been targeted three times since 2024. Mosman Collective revealed nine Port Jackson figs had been drilled and poisoned, and in December 2025 Council discovered the unauthorised pruning of two semi-mature figs at Balmoral Reserve.

No one has ever been charged with the crimes.

In May, Council voted to employ a dedicated “Tree Cop” to investigate and deter tree vandalism.

“The creation of a Tree Compliance Officer role at Mosman Council is a targeted response to increasing risks, including tree vandalism, strengthening Council’s ability to investigate, monitor and enforce compliance – particularly for significant trees and high-risk development sites,” a Council spokesperson told Mosman Collective at the time.

“The specialised role will enhance in-house expertise and evidence gathering,” the spokesperson said.

Mosman has logged 159 cases of tree vandalism in five years, issuing just 38 fines.

The suburb’s first Tree Compliance Officer has been employed, and starts work later this month.