UNDERGROUND CAVE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 132, 27 January 1932, Page 2

UNDERGROUND CAVE

NEW DISCOVERY IN NORTH AUCKLAND DISTRICT PETRIFIED VEGETATION The discovery of an undergrounc cave in the North Auckland district is described by a contributor, "S.H.,' in-the "North Auckland .Times." Camped on a ridge which appear ec .to run north by west, "S.H." states that he awolce one morning- to heai the boom of water dashing over stones far beneath the site of his camp. He descended a precipice for about 30C feet before he met with any trouble. and eventually by sliding and using mueh-care he reached the bottom oi the gorge. ; Through the gorge flowed a stream. and the trunks and boughs of trees piled tn a height of ten feet along its sides testified to the force of a torrent in winter. Following the stream for about. a mile, "S.H." came to s wail of rock, "and found that the stream flowed through an opening in it-: By stooping, he was just able to eritdr the opening, and found himself in a vast .cave. With the aid of a small electric toreh, he followed the course qf the stream well > into the cave. He came upon a rock, as large as a house' and weighing probably hundreds of to'ns, in the xhiddle df the* vast cave. It eorisisted of a mass of timber and leaves which had at one time grown in the forest, but had' now become the hardest rock. Ferns, kauri leaves, and every species of leaf to be found in the bush was

there in one great conglomerate. Even the birds which had built their nests away back in the ages were represented, for he discovered a nest in which were nine eggs. After viewing for an hour this wonderful sight, "S.H." proceeded farther into the cave, but found nothing more of outstanding interest, and returned home. About a fortnight later he went once more into the cave, and with the help of a small axe cut the bird's nest out of the petrified timber, and since then he has cut out other portiops of the conglomerate to show people interested in his find.