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Story: Rangitāne

Deforestation

Image
Deforestation

Land was purchased from Rangitāne by the government in the 1860s and 1870s and sold to European settlers. The dense forest that covered much of this land was then cleared to make way for farms. This photograph shows the aftermath of bush clearing at Matamau, near Dannevirke, in the 1880s.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, E. R. Williams Collection

Reference: 1/1-025788; G

by William Williams

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.

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How to cite this page

Mason Durie and Meihana Durie, Rangitāne – 19th century: war, settlement and leadership, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4253/deforestation (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Mason Durie and Meihana Durie, published 4 March 2009, updated 3 March 2017.

Comments

Brigitte
03 August 2013
I wonder what happened to all the birds and natural life living in the forest, once their homes were burnt to the ground