![Evandale's Peter Lefevre has been selling Christmas trees for 48 years. Picture by Paul Scambler Evandale's Peter Lefevre has been selling Christmas trees for 48 years. Picture by Paul Scambler](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/H9AemfQ3cDaTrBwqEFxwv/10a60f7b-28aa-414c-8b7e-a58deb86077f.jpg/r0_0_8256_5504_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The front yard of Peter Lefevre's home doesn't restock itself.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Every morning at 4am, Evandale's long-serving Christmas tree man will pack his axe into his ute and set off for the bush.
By the time his front gate opens at 10am, the yard is full of freshly-cut trees.
He's been doing this every December for 48 years - long enough to have third-generation customers and buyers from all over the state.
"You get elderly people come here and they go 'oh thank heavens I've found you'," Mr Lefevre said.
"Tears are running down their face, [they say] 'please never stop, I haven't had a Christmas tree since I was that high' and they cuddle me and everything.
"Others come and they bring me cakes, lollies and biscuits and say 'we look forward to this all year'."
Mr Lefevre is one of few with a permit to legally harvest the trees that end up in living rooms across the state.
He sells hundreds every year, and donates many to the community - schools, churches, welfare groups and police stations.
For the thousands of trees that have made their way to his property, few ever end up inside the house.
"After having these all year I don't put one up because I live on my own now," he said.
"I raised three kids on my own. Occasionally I'll put one up - I usually put a little one there [in the kitchen] for the cat."
![Long-serving Christmas tree man loves bringing joy Long-serving Christmas tree man loves bringing joy](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/H9AemfQ3cDaTrBwqEFxwv/92ac0ccc-6c1e-4648-a800-2f986acb5766.jpg/r0_0_1760_990_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
His axe is sharp, but the job is not always easy.
He had a heart attack about two years ago after he was bitten by a snake in the bush.
He spent a day and a half in hospital - with a heart rate as high as 200bpm - before being allowed to go home.
But two years out from his 50-year milestone, Mr Lefevre has no plans to stop.
"The joy it brings to people is just irreplaceable," he said.
- Mr Lefevre sells trees for between $20 and $35. There are signs in Evandale directing customers to his home.