Story: Whanganui region

Planting marram grass

Introduced marram grass was planted extensively in the early 20th century to stabilise sand dunes. In this 1946 film clip, men lay sandbags to plug a breach in the sandbar at the mouth of the Whanganui River, then plant marram grass on the adjacent dunes to stop erosion.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference: Weekly Review 264. National Film Unit, 1946

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How to cite this page:

Diana Beaglehole, 'Whanganui region - Vegetation and human impact', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/19011/planting-marram-grass (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Diana Beaglehole, updated 1 Jun 2015