KAURI GUM ROMANCE

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1931, Page 15 (Supplement)

KAURI GUM ROMANCE

INDUSTRY IN BAD WAY. HISTORY OF LOST GLORIES. According to a commercial authority in Auckland, the prospects for a successful season for the export of kauri gum during 1931 are ‘extremely remote. This is of considerable importance rom the point of. view of the province, as the industry is peculiarly Auckland’s own. Much of the present dullness in the industry is due, of course, to the widespread depression on the markets of the world, as the trade is principally one of exportation, but, on the other hand, a study of the situation reveals that the gum market has been declining for some years past. The truth is that the fields of North Auckland, once so profitable to thousands of diggers, have been combed so thoroughly that it is difficult to obtain superior lines of gum. An examination of the history of this once tremendously important trade is interesting. There is so much romance in this particular field of commercial exploitation that it can be safely said that much that is intrinsic in the history of.the Auckland province depends on the associations of the gum fields of North Auckland. And yet, strangely enough, the industry has received scant notice; to-day, its proportions have diminished to such an extent that it is generally disregarded, while commercialminded New Zealand concerns itself with the marketing problems of wool, dairy produce and frozen meat. But then this element of' romance is an attendant feature of the other early industries of New Zealand, which have declined abruptly in recent years—flax and timber milling and gold mining. Yet there remains a distinctive something in kauri gum digging. The wild life of the old camps, where wanderers from many'countries met for the moment, relating adventurous experiences—the good fortune of some beginner who happened to make a lucky find of superior gum —the stories behind the imperturbable faces of the old identities of the fields, inured by the years to coarse life—these were all things to fascinate. Old timers will tell the inquirer of the camp of English university men near Henderson. “The dudes” they were called by lesser diggers, possibly as a reproach against these men who refused to fraternise with those who did not possess their education. What circumstances contributed to the appearance of these educated , men in seeking an uncertain prosperity on the gum fields ? There were sufficient contrasts in other camps, which certainly were not noted for polished behaviour. Experienced diggers remember the repute of “Don Buck’s” and “Andy’s.” All romance, but it is a lost element in the more prosaic digging of modern years. A few of the pioneers remain on the fields, retracing with admirable patience the old paths which meant money to them. But it seems that the industry has lessened with the disappearance of romance. Thirty years ago, in the heyday of gum exportation, the wharves of the port of Auckland would be piled high with rich cargoes for the markets of the world. To-day gum for the market is handled in an unobtrusive building, the premises of the Kauri Gum Control Board, opposite the City Markets, and in certain warehouses. The sad aspect of the gumdigger’s efforts at the present time is that he is accustomed to poor returns, from fields which were once worked exhaustively by thousands of diggers; the modern digger scarcely expects rich finds. Consequently one learns that much of the market gum of the present day would have been ignored in earlier times. Some of it is mere dust—“sooge mooge” it is called in the language of the gunifields. So indifferent were the early diggers to poor gum that many lots of fair quality were used to fill building excavations in Auckland. To-day that gum would sell at probably £5O a ton. The average price is now about £53 a ton, but inferior qualities are sold below £lO. Rare lots of the finest grade can bring £3OO. In 1929 the average price was £OO, and gum merchants do not seem to be hope-, ful of any immediate recovery in the market. Another disquieting feature Is that the price lias declined, while the exportations have been reduced. Onlysmall quantities of kauri gum are used by New Zealand manufacturers, and the United States and Great Britain are the principal buyers. High-grade gum is used in making varnishes, though it can be dispensed with altogether, and poor lots are used in the manufacture of linoleum.

For a few years after the Great War an improvement was evident in the market, and 6900 tons were exported in 1924. In 1922 the average price was almost £lOO. These figures, compared with the position to-day, when the annual export is about 4500 tons, are serious, and it is not easy to see any avenue of relief.

Maoris were the pioneers of the gum industry. They worked the fields for 20 years before Europeans appreciated the commercial possibilities of the industry. A curious fact is that the average price to-day is the same as that in 1880, when the industry began to advance, but £35 in those days, of course, represented a considerable reward. The largest export was 11,000 tons in 1899, and the average for four years from 1904 was 8700 tons. Peaceful operations did not always distinguish gumdigging, but that could scarcely have been expected when adventurers of many creeds and nationalities roamed the fields. For instance, there was a considerable outcry in 1891 when

the original diggers hotly opposed the arrival of Dalmatians on the fields. So keen was their resentment that they formed a workers’ union to give effect to their claims. The Government would not listen to the appeals, and Dalmatians form a considerable percentage of the diggers to-day. If one finds sentimental interest in commerce and the evolution of industry, the passing of the rude whares and tin shanties of the old-time gumfield camps may be regretted. Their spirit to-day is simply a poignant reminder of greater glory.