Story: Kauri forest

One of New Zealand’s first high-profile conservation controversies was the battle to save Waipoua Forest from logging. Acquired by the government in 1874, it became a state forest and there were plans to mill the kauri trees there in the 1940s. Zoology professor Roy McGregor led a campaign to preserve the trees, which culminated in a petition to Parliament signed by 50,000 people. The forest was made a sanctuary in 1952.