SHORTAGE OF KAURI.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 269, 14 November 1907, Page 6

SHORTAGE OF KAURI.

_ Auckland timber merchants, interviewed on the subject, generally agreed with < the statement made by Mr D. Goldie, that there is at present an unprecedented shortage in the supply of kauri timber. The reason, however, is not because of the extent of the export trade, but is to be found in the excessive demand which exists locally and the decrease of the general output. The scarcity is such in. fact that the average miller has the greatest difficulty in coping with the local demand. "Tnere is no getting away from the fact," said Mr Goldie, "that the kauri is fast being worked out. We Have to go away back' into almost inaccessible places to secure it. • It is likely that another fifteen years will witness its disappearance. It is too late to think of preserving it. There is absolutely no possibility of reproducing the kauri forests." A member of another leading firm of kauri timber merchants assured a_ Press representative that the situation was really serious. In past years it was always the custom of the Commissioner to throw fresh areas on the market whenever the mill intimated that they needed more timber. Now the millers were in a very awkward position. The Department's preservation scheme is having a serious effect on those millers who were encouraged to erect plants in different parts of the country, for in numerous cases they have been compelled to close down.