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Story: The New Zealand bush

Bush hut

Image
Bush hut

The New Zealand bush, unlike Australia’s, was thick forest. It was usually dark and shady, and even to build a hut, trees had to be felled to provide light and some clear ground. This painting by Charles Blomfield is probably from the 1880s, and shows a Coromandel gold miner outside his hut.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: G-375

by Charles Blomfield

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, The New Zealand bush – What is the bush?, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/14494/bush-hut (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 1 March 2009.