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Story: Southern beech forest

Beech timbers

Video file

Beech timber has been put to many uses. Southland’s silver beech was popular for household furniture in the first decades of the 20th century. Red beech was used for heavy construction work, agricultural machinery, bus and truck frames, and for houses when other timbers were unavailable.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Beech Foresters. National Film Unit, 1951

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Joanna Orwin, Southern beech forest – Beech timber, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/13324/beech-timbers (accessed 8 June 2026).

Story by Joanna Orwin, published 1 March 2009.