Story: Kauri gum and gum digging

A boy sits next to a large nugget of kauri gum, found at Houhora in Northland. It probably weighed as much as he did. The largest pieces of gum, which were very rare, may have weighed up to 250 kilograms. Such chunks probably formed around a tree’s roots or in the forks of branches. By the 1890s, pieces weighing around 5 kilograms were uncommon.