Pumice and Pines. The Story of Kaingaroa Forest

Descripción

One of NZ's largest exports in value and volume is various forest products that have their origins in the pine plantations that replaced the indigenous bush as it was felled and milled. The largest of these is the Kaingaroa Forest, covering more that 150,000 hectares in the central North Island, lying east and north of Lake Taupo. Most of the land occupied is volcanic with a high pumice content and in the 1860s the first farming to utilise the Kaingaroa Plains took place, but was brought to a halt by the Land War troubles of that time. In the late 1870s the Goverment purchased the first blocks of what was to become the Kaingaroa Forest. Although the intent was to develop this land (about 120,000 acres) for settlement, the reputation of the pumice land as being unsuitable for farming deterred settlers. By the late 1890s plans were afoot for afforestation of the Kaingaroa area and about 1895 experimental plantings were carried out there. Earlier planting of shelter belts in NZ demonstrated that conifer species adapted well to conditions and grew quickly. Eventually it was pinus radiata that came to dominate the planting, which was carried out by prisoners from the early 1900s. In 1919 a Forestry Department was established,(lated renamed the State Forest Service) and the pace of plantings quickened. During the Great Depression many unemployed men were assigned to the Kaingaroa afforestation scheme, with 222,900 acres planted between 1925 and 1936. Expansion of the forestry continued during WWII and by the 1950s had developed as a major source of domestic and export product with the construction of a paper mill at Kawerau and a port at Tauranga for newsprint and lumber exports, with Japan soon creating a regular and important trade in logs, which now go to many other cusomers. This is a comprehensive record of this far-sighted enterprise, recognising the many people instrumental in its success.Those with the vision to create this vast foresty project and those who did the planting, often in adverse circumstances, certainly "sowed the seeds" for a vital component for NZ's future economic benefit. First edition from the NZ Foresty Corporation and GP Publications,l undated but c.1992, 198 pages including glossary, references and index, b/w photos throughout, some art, map. plans, document reproductions. Pictorial card covers are VG+ with slight seperation, bump to front corners, internally excellent, no inscriptions. N° de ref. del artículo 004790

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