A witness told the Otago Daily Times the man came out of a house in Yewlett Cres about noon shouting ‘‘shut the f ... up’’ at the six arborists, who were trimming trees by the entrance to the Frankton Motor Camp.
One of the workers, who was using a chainsaw, told the witness the man ‘‘threatened them with a samurai sword’’.
After a verbal confrontation, the man then went back into his house.
About 10 police officers arrived, of whom seven were armed.
They fanned out and surrounded the house, and closed off Yewlett Cres between Frankton Rd and Lake Ave.
The man later walked out with his hands up and lay down on the ground before being handcuffed and put in a patrol car.
‘‘They must have been on the phone to him giving him instructions, which he followed.’’
The incident, which lasted about 30 minutes, was frightening, she said.
The motor camp will be closed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council at 5pm tomorrow to make way for a camping-only facility.
Council parks manager Graeme Davies told the ODT earlier this week the camp would be fenced off and trees trimmed to make way for the removal of cabins and caravans.
The witness said people who lived or worked in the area were expecting some of the camp’s last remaining residents to ‘‘make some trouble’’ about being evicted.
‘‘People are very upset about leaving
... We’re all waiting to see what happens in the next couple of days.’’
Council spokesman Jack Barlow said it was treating the incident ‘‘very seriously’’.
‘‘The safety of staff, council contractors and the general public is paramount, and we will be introducing extra security measures.”
A police spokesperson said they received a report of a man ‘‘acting threateningly’’ in Frankton at 12.05pm.
He was arrested and no-one was injured.