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Story: Waikato region

Peat fire

Video file

The menace peat fires posed to farming is described in this 1946 newsreel. Peatlands, formed of slowly decomposing plant material, could burn underground if fire from farm burnoffs spread down through tree roots. Peat fires were once a regular occurrence in farmland around Hamilton.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 237. National Film Unit, 1946

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

Nancy Swarbrick, Waikato region – Plants and animals, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/27060/peat-fire (accessed 23 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 26 May 2010, updated 1 July 2015.