‘Rotting’ floodlight tower topples in wild winds at Junee

A TOWERING light pole has come crashing down at Junee’s Loftus Oval after powerful winds swept across the Riverina on Tuesday morning.

The wooden floodlight tower—estimated to stand more than 20 metres tall—snapped at its base and collapsed with full force around 9am, crushing a metal spectator bench beneath it.

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

The lights were shattered in the fall, strewing broken glass across the grass, while attached metal framework was driven deep into the turf.

Fortunately, the oval was unoccupied at the time, and no one was injured in the incident.

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Junee’s NSW Fire and Rescue unit attended the scene, shortly followed by Essential Energy, who worked to isolate the power supply and make the area safe.

Council crews also attended and established an exclusion zone around the area.

Photo: Supplied

Photo: Supplied

Photos taken by The Junee Bulletin show the fallen wooden column was likely structurally compromised well before Tuesday’s wind event, with its base severely hollowed, crumbling, and seemingly riddled with rot.

Some of the damage also appears consistent with termite activity.

Older, untreated or poorly maintained wooden utility poles are highly vulnerable to both rot and termites—two threats that often go unnoticed until catastrophic failure occurs.

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Wood rot is caused by fungi that thrive in damp environments, gradually weakening the internal structure of the timber—particularly within the core of wooden utility poles.

Termites, on the other hand, consume wood from the inside out, often leaving only a fragile outer shell.

Structural failure typically occurs at the ground line, where moisture exposure is highest, with regular inspection and maintenance critical to detect damage early and prevent collapse.

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Council crews are expected to remove the toppled tower on Wednesday.

The Bulletin understands the lighting fixtures will be detached from the pole before it is cut into smaller pieces for removal.

For now, the structure—which has stood over the sporting grounds for decades—remains sprawled across a section of the playing field, cordoned off with cones and orange mesh.

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

A second floodlight tower, identical in design and located just metres away, has also been fenced off as a precaution.

The Bulletin understands this pole is now also scheduled for removal within the week.

Still standing, the remaining tower highlights the sheer scale of the structure that fell—its twin looming over the oval at a height roughly equivalent to a six-storey building.

A second tower nearby is set to be removed as a safety precaution | Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Collapse coincides with strongest winds

The incident occurred during a peak 90-minute window of damaging wind gusts sweeping across the Riverina.

Winds had been steadily building since early Monday, with gusts of 20–30km/h recorded across the region before intensifying sharply on Tuesday morning.

The first strong gust—clocked at 50km/h—hit Wagga Airport at 8:17am, with gusts peaking at 56km/h by 9:21am, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Similar gusts were also recorded in Temora around the same time.

In Junee, the strongest winds coincided almost exactly with the time of the light pole’s collapse.

A large branch was also torn from a gum tree along Main Street, prompting a separate clean-up by Council.

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Adding to the conditions, the fierce easterly winds drove apparent temperatures well below actual readings.

At 9.30am, while the thermometer showed 12.9°C, the “feels like” temperature plunged to just 3.1°C.

By 2.30pm, the air had warmed to 17.5°C, with an apparent temperature of 11.4°C. Wind gusts had eased somewhat but were still reaching between 30-40km/h.