BURIED KAURI TREE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22391, 11 April 1936, Page 10

BURIED KAURI TREE

GUM ALSO UNCOVERED DISCOVERY AT OTAHUHU A large quantity of kauri gum and the trunk of a large tree were uncovered in the course of street excavations at Otahuhu on Thursday. The discovery was made at a depth of fully 12ft. below the street level. The main sewer in Princes Street, where the excavations were undertaken. lies about 17ft. below the surface, and the workmen uncovered the gum some little distance from the sewer track when digging for house connections. ()ver\7olb. of gum was lifted, but practically all of it was in ■poor condition and unmarketable on account of its exposure to the atmosphere and gases underground. The trunk of a well-preserved kauri tree was also found, and the workmen had to cut out considerable - portions to carry out their sewer connections. The tree was about 2ft. in diameter at the point of excavation. Several fronds and stems of fern were also uncovered by the men. • * The discovery points to this part of the Tamaki Isthmus, which has historic associations with Maori settlement, having been heavily wooded in the days prior to the volcanic eruptions which changed the configuration of the country. Extinct volcanoes and craters are located at Mount Richmond and St urges Park, which are respectively about half a mile north and south of Princes Street.