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The Mighty Kauri Tree
Scientific Name: Agathis australis
Family: Araucariaceae
Genus: Agathis
Species: australis is the only species in New Zealand
The kauri tree, Agathis australis, is New Zealand’s largest and most famous native tree. The kauri is a type of conifer or pine tree which grows in the subtropical northern part of the North Island.
Ancestors of the kauri first appeared in the Jurassic Period 190 – 135 million years ago. The kauri – podocarp (cone bearing) – hardwood forests are among the most ancient in the world.
The largest kauri in existence is Tane Mahuta (Maori for 'Lord of the Forest'). Tane Mahuta is 4.4 metres in diameter and 17.7 metres to the first branch. The Kauri Museum, Matakohe has displays showing even larger trees which were growing in the past.
The oldest tree is estimated to be 2,000 years old. This is Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest) in Waipoua Forest. Larger trees from the past were even older!
Learn more about the Kauri Tree
If you would like to learn more about the kauri, The Kauri Museum, Matakohe has a research library and archive department which may be of assistance to you. Other references available to purchase from The Kauri Museum Shop which you may find useful include:
- “Kauri Timber Days” by John Diamond & Bruce W Hayward. The Bush Press, 1990 ($20.00)
- “Kauri Gum and the Gumdiggers” by Bruce W Hayward. The Bush Press, 1989 ($12.50)
- “Kauri Past and Present” by Gordon Ell. The Bush Press, 1994 ($20.00)
- “The Figs and the Vines” by The Dalmatian Pioneer Trust, 1997 ($10.00)
- “Foote Prints Among the Kauri” by Bill Haigh. Bill Haigh, ($40.00)
- “The Kauri Museum – Matakohe” by Gordon Ell. The Bush Press, 2005 (20.00)
- “The Kauri Gumdiggers – The Story of Kauri Gum” by Sir Alfred Reed. Bush Press, 2006 ($30.00)
- “Kauri Witness to a Nation” – by Joanna Orwin. Auckland University Press 2005 ($45.00)
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