Kōrero: Kauri gum and gum digging

Huge nugget (2 o 4)

Huge nugget

A boy sits next to a large nugget of kauri gum, found at Houhora in Northland. It probably weighed as much as he did. The largest pieces of gum, which were very rare, may have weighed up to 250 kilograms. Such chunks probably formed around a tree’s roots or in the forks of branches. By the 1890s, pieces weighing around 5 kilograms were uncommon.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library, Northwood Collection (PA-Group-00027)
Reference: 1/2-051968; F
Photograph by Arthur James Northwood

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.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Carl Walrond, 'Kauri gum and gum digging - Origin and early uses', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/12945/huge-nugget (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Carl Walrond, i tāngia i te 24 Sep 2007