Page 6 Advertisements Column 3

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 178, 14 August 1937, Page 6

Desccndant of First Oak. An interesting Arbor Day ceremon> took p'lace in the grounds of St. Faith's Maori Cburich. Ohinemutu, on Thursday morning, when Mr lt. Griffiths, one of the oldest residents of Rotorua, planted a young oak sapling growu from an.acorn taken lrom an' oak on his property and planted there in 1886 b.y the late Rev. F. S. SpenCur", one of the earliest missionartes to the Maoris in the Rotorua diutriot. The - acorn from which the tree was grown was brought by Mr Spencer from Waimate North, where be obtained it from the first oak tree ever planted in New Zealand. This tree was grown from an acorn brought from Dorset, England, in 1824 by the Rev. R. Davis, one of the earliest C.M.S. missionaries to land in the colo'ny. Mr Davis planted it at the mission' stati'on at Paihia, and transplanted the sapling at Waimate North in 1831 when lie took charge of the station there. . The Rotorud tree has grown 3ven faster than its parent tree and is now nearly 75ft. in height, with a spr,ead -of over 210ft, nnd a girth round the bole of llft. Mr Griffiths conceived the idea -of planting Ihe sapling. from this tree in the grounds of St. Faith Chureh, not only to mark Arbor Day, but also to celebrate the •53 years of 'bis'own assoeiation with that chureh.