Playford, I shot a video once of a euc in the park that already had some damage, then I showed what would come, sure did, the branches also busted and are now pruned right back and another tree removed for stem failure.
Happens all the time, that's why old school topping of eucs was done.
Take a look around, many big tall trees have their heads broken off, many long limbs broken off, get those eyes tuned in and watch ... walk through some bush and parks etc and see. There was some method in the madness, short stout trees are stronger trees however the opportunity to do that is through formative pruning of juvenile and semi mature trees before they become huge.
Eucs dont mind being broken or topped, they epicormic fast and within 3 to 5 years a reasonable crown is there. So in nature they can handle it, risk vs return for the tree ...
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"I will grow to be king of this jungle and tower above my companions and if the wind breaks me I'll be back faster just like Gov Arny and then have the potential to grow even taller with a few spares in my back pocket!" That's about how they think in out terms.
Not done often here is also cabling, frankly eucs are prime candidates for it yet there seems to be MASSIVE AVERSION to cabling here, borne out of fear of litigation. Find me one case though, all hype and it would be a viable alternative. Eucs are very good compartmentalizers, cabling also doubles as fall arrest. Not sure how you'd deal with the main central leader in apically dominant species like regnans and grandis, cant really reduce it and even when juvenile dont top it.
I think we are way behind the 8 ball here and the good ole tree loppers and their BS is heard too often. When you have an industry full of uneducated what do you expect, no qualifications required, no regulation, no licence so the myths are still heard often and reinforce customers old hat ideas.
If the trees are not protected then there is really little anyone can do.
It would be a civil matter between the two parties. If the school ordered the topping and the tree company contested it but did it anyway then there's no chance for the school. Bit different if the school asked for pruning and that's what got done, then they have a very strong case as the trees weren't pruned to AS4373.