Her heartfelt appeal follows the removal of a beautiful Moreton Bay fig in her rural community, a move she fears could put other iconic trees at risk.

Ms Shillingford has made a hobby of researching the history of greenery in the Hunter and believes there are about 100 similar fig trees in the area.

Her research indicates that early European settlers to the region could have been responsible for bringing Moreton Bay figs from Muswellbrook to plant at Millers Forest, which was previously scrub land.

The importance of historic trees in our district cannot be understated and it was a sad day last year when we lost one of the two century-old London plane trees outside Maitland Court House.

A bug infestation and indirect poisoning were believed responsible for the tree’s demise, but the second is responding well to treatment and is likely to survive.

Just down the road, Newcastle City Council fought a long and protracted battle with its ratepayers to remove a grove of fig trees from Laman Street in recent times.

Council argued the trees were dangerous and had to come down.

There is always a fine line between preserving our history and public safety, so it is hoped that setting up a catalogue of the iconic trees in the Maitland area will make it easier to decided what should be saved for future generations to enjoy.

We must have progress, but it is also important to hold on to some of the things that remind us of our past.

Trees are part of that history and many are worth preserving.