The remarkable story of the greatest tree in New Zealand

THE REMARK ABLE STORY OF

Victorian Epergne (a table vase)

THE GREATEST TREE IN NEW ZEAL AND

The kauri tree, Agathis australis, is New Zealand’s largest and most famous native tree. Located midway between Auckland and the Bay of Islands in the warm north of the country, the Kauri Museum tells some of the stories of this amazing tree.

Northland’s largest museum has stories of the Māori of the north eastern Kaipara, of European pioneers, of foresters and sawmillers, gum diggers and farmers, and of business people, fishers and the families who have made this area their home.

Visitors rave about the museum’s collections, along with the friendly staff, gift shop and onsite café. 5,000 pieces of golden, honey-coloured, kauri gum glow in the jewel in the

Museum’s crown: the best and biggest collection of gum in the world. The gum shines with the light of the thousands of years it has taken to form. Created when sap from the trees leaks out through cracks in the bark, lumps can form over the many hundreds of years of a kauri tree’s life, and once hardened and eventually fossilizing, become the gum we see today.

The pieces on display come from a number of collections gathered by local residents. They have been cleaned and polished, and in some cases carved and turned into sculptures and jewellery.

Exquisite Kauri Gum

While at the Museum you may be able to see gum polishing in action (phone first or check on arrival to see if the polisher is in) and even polish your own piece to take home. Finished gum and jewellery pieces are also available to purchase at the Museum Shop.

Three special exhibitions are on over summer. Forgotten Tales of the Kaipara includes social history recordings as told by five longstanding local residents. Overlooked takes 60 items from across the museum and moves them out of their usual displays, so they can stand out and be better appreciated. The Museum at 60 is a photographic display covering the construction of the Museum, and many of the local people involved since the first building was opened in 1962.

A fascinating recreation of a quality 1880-1920 six room home is at the entrance to the Museum. Fully furnished with original decor and lifelike models dressed in period costume, the house is wall to wall with authentic furniture, fittings and ornaments, and is typical of how kauri timber was used for building homes and for making beautiful furniture.

Elsewhere around the Museum is one of the most extensive collections of kauri and antique furniture in New Zealand. From elaborately carved dining furniture and display pieces, through to the simplest home-made items, nearly all of the collection is on display.

Fans of big machinery don’t miss out either. The Museum includes a full sized sawmill, which moves at slow speed so visitors can get up close to see how the mill works. At its centre is a Davey Paxman Portable

Steam Engine, built in England in 1921, and one of the last ever made. The engine drives a range of saws for ‘breaking down’ giant kauri logs and converting them into planks.

Explore www.kaurimuseum.com for a taste of the Kauri Museum, and then make sure to visit. It's remarkable! The Kauri Museum is at Matakohe, just a 50 minute drive from Whangārei. Open 9am-5pm every day, children under12 are free during the holidays. Gumdiggers Café open each day 10am-3pm for snacks, meals and great coffee!

Kaur mi Museum

S ee wh at's new !

• new exhibitions • stories of Kaipara life • historic buildings • antique furniture • working sawmill • family & senior discounts • ev charging points • cafe on site

5 Church Road, Matakohe. Open Daily 9am-5pm