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Story: Kauri forest

Milling kauri, 1839

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Milling kauri, 1839

From the mid-1820s, kauri timber stations were established around the coast and on rivers in the top half of the North Island to meet the overseas demand for spars and timber. This kauri milling camp on the Wairoa River in Northland was painted by artist and surveyor Charles Heaphy in 1839. In the foreground, men haul a log into position. Behind them a squared-off log is suspended so it can be cut into planks by two men using a pit saw, one standing above the log and one beneath.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: C-025-014

by Charles Heaphy

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

Joanna Orwin, Kauri forest – Using kauri, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/10030/milling-kauri-1839 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Joanna Orwin, published 1 March 2009.