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Kōrero: Rural language

Bush language

Image
Bush language

The word bush, meaning the forest that covered much of New Zealand in the 19th century, was used in various compound words to describe a wide range of things. Bushmen were workers who felled trees, usually in a gang. Here, bushman Joe Gordon sharpens his saw, at Kauaeranga, near Thames, in 1922.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

The Kauri Museum, Matakohe

Reference: H1993 224 216

Permission must be obtained from The Kauri Museum before this image is stored, reproduced, or altered in any form for any purpose.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Dianne Bardsley, Rural language – Settling the land, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/18596/bush-language (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Dianne Bardsley, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.