kauri tree

Kauri tree Why a people trying to kill the Kauri were prolific in the past

Kauri forests once covered 1.2 million ha from the Far North of Northland to Te Kauri, near Kawhia and were common when the first people arrived around 1,000 years ago.

Past uses of kauri

Maori used kauri timber for boat building, carving and building houses. The gum was used as a fire starter and for chewing (after it had been soaked in water and mixed with the milk of the puha plant).

The arrival of European settlers in the 1700s to 1800s saw the decimation of these magnificent forests. Sailors quickly realised the trunks of young kauri were ideal for ships' masts and spars, and the settlers who followed felled the mature trees to yielded huge .

kauri tree