Mighty kauris mostly gone

Press, 19 June 1979, Page 16

Mighty kauris mostly gone

The mighty native kauri, a species of pine, has been here for many thousands of years. In -the distant past it may have flourished all over New Zealand, but for a very long time it has grown only in the North Island, in an area between South Auckland and the far north.

Kauri timber was used by the Maoris to build their war canoes. It was used by the early settlers for their houses, churches and other large buildings, and it was sold in large quantities for ship-building overseas.

Careless felling methods

destroyed many young trees that were in the path of the large ones as they were cut to the ground.

Another source of wealth from the kauri was the fossilised amber-col-oured resin that was found in great quantities in the earth around the trees. It was much in demand for its use in the manufacture of varnish, and brought gum-diggers flocking" to the kauri forests. It has been estimated that fossilised gum to the value of SSOM was exported between 1800 and 1850. As fossilised gum be-

came scarce, the diggers left the ground to climb the trees for the resin lodged high up in the forks between the branches and the trunks.

Resin shed naturally in this way would not have harmed the trees, but

some climbers began to " extract the resin from the 4 trees by cutting into the ‘1 bark. This practice, known as gum-bleeding, maimed •. many of the trees and r eventually killed them.

Through use, and mis- *■ use, this giant conifer that once dominated the ' landscapes of the far , north was dwindling to- ' f wards extinction by the . middle of this century. / But fortunately, people . have since recognised the • true value of the historic kauri, and they are interested in conserving what remains of the once-exten-sive towering forests, that have served us so well. This is one of the rea- / sons for the widespread -f planting of exotic trees, which mature com- ’ paratively quickly, and ‘ ensure a continuing sup- .. ply of timber for the future, without further depleting our native trees.