KAURI PARK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17139, 19 April 1919, Page 1 (Supplement)

KAURI PARK.

A MAGNIFICENT FOREST.

BY CHAHI.ES M.OMFIKI.D.

Auckland is singularly favoured in public benefactors. One valuablo gift after another is poured into the lap of the community. Among them all, the latest gift stands out in prominence—the gift by Mr. Trounson of Kauri Park, Kaipara. I have been camping in this park for the last few weeks, sketching the kauris, and have no hesitation in stating—and I have been through most of the kauri areasthat this bush contains the finest specimens of the kauri in New Zealand, and saying that is equivalent to saying the finest specimens of the kauri in tho world. Whether in size, height, variety or environment, there is nothing equal to it anywhere. Viewed from a neighbouring hill over-looking the park, the forest appears to be all kauri. There is nothing to be seen over the whole expanse of three or four hundred acres, but the tops of kauri trees, and the top is singularly levpl. No towering tree over-tops its fellows. But when we enter the forest we find

a variety of smaller trees and shrubs adding to the charm of the bush. The taraire is tho most plentiful, forming with its handsome foliage and rambling branches, a pleasing contrast to the stately kauri. The graceful tawa, the beautiful, towlii, and the karaka with its large glossy leaves, all grow luxuriantly. Above thorn the kauri lifts its massive branches, forming an almost continuous canopy. The first thing that strikes the visitor is the difference in colour. Some trees c>re grey, inclining to purple, while many we ft warm brown, almost a salmon colour. In some the tree casts its bark in large flakes, leaving the surface deeply marked, in others the trunk is beautifully smooth and the bark falls in thin flakes no bigger than an autumn leaf. In some the trunk oarries an enormous head of massive branches, giving the tree a heavy appearance, and in others the top is very small with scarcely any foliage. While the eye meets at every turn stately specimens of this noble tree, there are several trees that stand out prominently in consequence of their size, shape and colour. Some Giant Trees,

The celebration tree, under which tho opening ceremony was hold, is a huge ungainly giant, It measures 35 feet in girth, While it cannot be called a handsome tree, there is a certain rugged picturesque beauty about it that appeals to an artist, Its trunk, gnarled and twisted, and shaggy with loose hark, supports an enormous head, the massive branches crowded with a mass of alien growth. It has the look of a deerept. old man fast hastening to decay, There is another old giant not far away, so old that the centre has completely decayed, A cave-like opening on one side gives access to the interior, where seven or eight persona might stand, The two finest trees are near the gate, but ft little off the track and may easily be missed by the visitor. fine of them has ft girth of 87 feet and a, height of barrel of about 45 feet, The jther, a, trifle less In girth, has a trunk reaching at least 65 feet to the first branoh. There is no sign fit decay about these two trees, they are in the stage of vigorous manhood, the very prime of life. The shaft of the taller one towers tip straight as a plumb line, its aides are parallel, its bark clean, its beautifully rounded think rising 65 feet without a knot or blemish of any kind, You oould fancy it the massive column of some great temple. It seams a crime to cut « tree like th's down, but the sawmiller ha? no sentiment. He estimates a tree by the amount of timber it will yield. This tree is calculated to' produce 20,000 feet of sawn timber, which at tho present price would be worth £300. There is no doubt these trees are the finest specimens in the forest, but magnificent trees abound on every hand. -Trees six and seven feet through are common. They grow very close, there is not a spot where you have not one or two large! kauris in the line of sight, and in some places the eye takes in ten or twelve in one view. Often two are found growing from one root and in one case there is a family of four growing from one stump. These are not very big trees, but they are very tall and straight. One of them towers up over 100 feet without a branch— a splendid spar. Ono huge tree brings to mind the Siamese twins—two great trees united into one solid trunk three quarters of the way tip, and then branching into two seperate trees.

A Freak o£ Nature. A curious freak of nature is to be seen on one of the trees near the entrance, in the shape of a huge growth or carbuncle cropping out of the siJe. about eight feet from the ground. Looking up from below the likeness to a monstrous face is quite startling. Long protuberances hang down, terminating in rounded nodules. One of these forms the nose, a small one tho right eve, others form the eye, ear, and feet with claws. Tufted mosses form the eye-brows, and trailing grasses the hair, and most remarkable of all just where the other eye should be two tiny fern leaves [have grown and drying, curled up in tho !shape of an eye. Looking at tho creature sideways the profile is perfect, the long I nose, the moustache, the mouth, teeth, ! chin and beard are all there. The colour is a warm brewn with dee]) shadows in the hollows. It was suTely some monstrous growth like this that suggested the idea of the Satyr and woodland faun, or supplied the old Gothic builders with a model for those grotesque gargoyles they were wont to decorate the tops of their walls with. This curiosity is certainly ono of the sights of the forest and ought to be carefully preserved, but alas! every small boy who comes along tries to poke its noso off with a pole. Some of these trees must be a great age, I counted the annular rings on one recently felled and made the tree to be 360 vears old, and this was by no means an old tree. The veterans of the forest must be over 1000 years old. The annular rings tell more than the ago of the tree. Its" life's history is recorded in those minute lines. That small cluster in the centre represents the tree when it was but a sapling, as the tree develops the rings begin to vary, here they widen out telling of years of plenty and vigorous growth, then comes several years, when the growth is slow and the rings close together. Sometimes the lines will close up on one side and widen out on the other, caused probably by prevailing winds, As the tree approaches maturity the growth is slower and the lines so olose that in 50 years the increase will be only an inch or two. Danger of Fire,

Tt is a thousand pities the Government could not secure the whole of this forest, Tt has a large State reserve some miles further on, stretching for 14 miles towards Hokianga. This contains several larce art>as of kauri, but it is two far away for sightseers, while Kauri Park is easy of access and will soon be connected by rail. It would be better for the Government to sell the larger area and secure the whole of this, and so be able to preserve for the public these magnificent samples of the fast disappearing kauri. In any case a caretaker should bo appointed without delay. It will be a most difficult job preserving this fine park from fire. It is surrounded by land from which the kauri has been taken, and which is now covered with tall fern and old stumps. The rotting sap on the stumps is like so much tinder, a spark would set it on Ifte. and given a high wind and a dry summer, nothing could save the living trees. The settlers all around are burning off every season, bo you have every element of danger. Only the other day a bush fire spread to the State forest beyond and destroyed a number of fine trees. Visitors too, will be coming in increasing numbers, lighting fires, and smoking in the bush, digging up the ferns and destroying the lovely undergrowth. It is only a little bit compared with the cleared areas around; let us make every effort to