Matakohe and Kauri museum - photo gallery and information | New Zealand

Matakohe is a small settlement in Northland close to large Kaipara Harbour. There is Kauri Museum and Holiday Park.

The Kauri Museum contains many exhibits that tell the story of the pioneering days when early European settlers in the area extracted kauri timber and kauri gum. The museum has over 4000 sq metres of undercover exhibits, including the largest collection of Kauri Gum in the world, and the largest collection of Kauri furniture. It has a model of a 1900s kauri house with furniture and models in the dress of the early years, and an extensive collection of photographs and pioneering memorabilia. On the wall, there are full-scale circumference outlines of the huge trees, including one of 8 1/2 meters, larger even than Tane Mahuta. The museum includes a working mock-up of a steam sawmill. The museum tells its story from the colonial viewpoint, and presents its representation of the kauri gum industry as part of the process of creating the New Zealand identity. It has little to say about negative aspects, such as the impact on the Maori people and nature. The museum has however helped raise awareness of the need to conserve the remaining forest through a display of photographs by the conservationist Stephen King, presented in partnership with the Waipoua Forest Trust.

Photogallery