The gumlands were generally unsuitable for farming after the diggers had finished. “Potholes” and trenches remained unfilled – “tailings” piled beside them – and the continual burning off of manuka and fern, left nothing but bare clay. Gorse, hakea, and other introduced weeds displaced the stunted manuka, and large areas were useless until modern machinery, lime, and suitable fertilisers were available for land development.