It’s Arbor Master’s 25th birthday in 2026, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to tell our story. It begins with two boys at Ashburton College – Mark Hooper and Simon Street – mates who both ended up doing the same job: climbing trees for a living.
Mark Hooper
Born and bred in Ashburton, Mark started climbing trees professionally when he was working in Scotland.
The company he was with had contracts with the National Trust to preserve and maintain ancient trees around Aberdeenshire – including the Queen’s estate at Balmoral. The team would often find pruning notes written by the Queen Mother pinned to trees asking them to trim foliage that was blocking her view.
Following his stint in Scotland and several summers working in the USA, Mark returned to Christchurch with $5000 in his pocket and an ambition to start up his own tree-care business.
With an old Nissan Safari, trailers he’d hire when necessary, and with his wife Carmel helping out on weekends, Mark began building up business as a professional arborist. He improved his gear as finances permitted, and his first major purchase was a trailer, then a truck, and then came the game changer – his first chipper.
Simon Street
In 2006, Simon Street came home from London where he’d been working as an arborist for the past 10 years. It was perfect timing, because Mark wanted to expand the business and needed a hand to do it. Having been mates since their school days, Simon joining Mark as a partner in Arbor Master was the perfect solution.
Learning his trade amongst the classic terraced houses of London gave Simon some very useful skills – in particular, how to work with very large trees in extremely tight spaces. Often the only access to the back garden where the trees were was through the front door of the house! Steering segments of tree out past the priceless Ming vases and Chippendale furniture in the hallways was a challenge! As well as residential properties, Simon worked on trees at the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and The Tower of London.
Since 2006, the Arbor Master team has grown steadily, and we’ve had the opportunity to work on some significant projects. Over the years we’ve employed over 100 local people, and we’re especially proud to have brought 10 apprentices through our ranks to become fully qualified professional arborists.
We Care for Canterbury
After the earthquake demolition work had finished, we worked on the rejuvenation of the Red Zone where thousands of trees were in need of care. Wherever possible, we restored them to their former glory with judicious pruning, lifting and thinning – only removing trees that were clearly too severely damaged to survive.
Another passion project for us was the heritage Meadowbank Estate near Leeston. Over a 12-month period we restored and made safe countless 80 to 100-year-old specimen trees. The trees at Meadowbank are especially important to preserve, because many of them are exotic species that aren’t commonly seen in New Zealand – we want future generations to be able to enjoy seeing them as much as we do.
2026 and beyond
Today we cover the full spectrum of tree work for homeowners, property managers, developers, and councils throughout Canterbury. Mark and Simon don’t spend quite as much time on the tools as we used to – but the business is still a size where we’re able to be hands-on and meet all our customers in person.
To sign off on our 25th anniversary, we’d like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years and trusted us with their precious gardens and trees, especially during the tough times after the earthquakes and during Covid.
Now we’re looking forward to the next 25 years. With Alfie coming on board recently as a partner, Arbor Master has a clear vision for the future and we’ll keep on going from strength to strength.
Get in touch with us today to book an obligation-free assessment of the trees at your home, rental, rural or commercial property.