Skip to main content

Story: Northland region

The soil of Northland

Image
The soil of Northland

Northland’s heavy clays and exhausted gumlands have always been difficult to farm because of their low fertility. This extract (56 KB) from The land of the lost (1902) by William Satchell describes soils in the Hokianga region. Satchell himself experienced difficulties farming such land when he lived at Waimā between 1886 and 1892.

Download attachment (PDF file, 19.52 KB)

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Reference: William Satchell, The land of the lost. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 1971, pp. 1-3

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Claudia Orange, Northland region – Geography, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/7515/the-soil-of-northland (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Claudia Orange, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.