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Story: Kauri gum and gum digging

Tree climbing

Video file

Watch a man demonstrate how he used to climb kauri trees to cut them so they would bleed gum. Here he is working for the New Zealand Forest Service and is collecting cones, not gum.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: New Zealand Mirror 6. National Film Unit, 1950

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

Carl Walrond, Kauri gum and gum digging – Gum digging methods, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/12964/tree-climbing (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 1 March 2009.