Recreation & Sport

Ship building history on Kauri Coast

New Zealand's native Kauri tree was sought by shipbuilders and riggers alike for its exceptional timber, tall, strong and straight trees perfect for ship spars. Many yachts built from this rich source on the Kauri Coast during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries survive to this day. The trees also yielded valuable gum, or amber, which was used commercially until the advent of plastics as well as being fashioned into jewellery and intricate carvings. The Kauri Museum gives visitors a unique glimpse of the methods and machinery used to fell and transport the giant trees, the uses to which the wood was put, and the lives of the pioneers who established this industry.

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