New State Mill Will Produce 15,000 Board Feet Of Timber Daily

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 91, 21 October 1947, Page 5

New State Mill Will Produce 15,000 Board Feet Of Timber Daily

Included in the itinerary of the National Party M’s.P. who visited Whakatane at the week-end was a tour of the Kaingaroa State Forest. The party was conducted by Mr Dunn, officer of the Rotorua conservancy, and members of the State Forestry Service. The visitors were given a panoramic view of what is claimed to be the largest man-made forest in the world from the Peke Peke look-out,. were given details of the fire watching service and data on the general woikings of the service.

They also inspected the installations at Kaingaroa village in. the heart of the forest, and were taken over the new State timber mill close by, which is expected to be in production any day now with a daily output of 15,000 board feet, a figure which those in charge hope to be able to step up considerably when the whole plant is in full swing. Milling will be started on the matured timber of the old shelter belts, which are expected to yield 5,000,000 board feet of timber.

Visitors were told that the mill would be. able to handle 60 to 70 acres of timber a year, which capacity, though substantial, seems puny when weighed against the fact the 1,000 acres of growing trees would keep it going in perpetuity, and the Kaingaroa forest embraces over 600,000 acres of country.