NEW ERA OF USEFULNESS FOR AREA OF BUSH

Taupo Times, Volume XIV, Issue 47, 17 June 1965, Page 4

NEW ERA OF USEFULNESS FOR AREA OF BUSH

A new era oi useftitaiess for one of New Zealand's finest areas of native bush — and the largest privately-owned block — began last week when a team of workers from Tokoroa began planting radiata and Douglas fir seedlings in the Taupo Totara Thnber Company's Tauri Tutukau block at Maroa. It is the first planned exotic planting progranime i in the history of the 64-year-old Putaruru company.

Experimental plantings of radiata and fir were undertaken last winter on 83 acres. Excellent growth rates j have occurred in the seedling | trees in the past year, ranging from about 7in to 20in. The first stage of the planned planting programme began last week on 400 acres of land in the Tauri Tutukau block. Most of this was fern country which was burned over during last summer — ; not without some difficulty during a wet season. About 30 acres had carried rimu, matai and totara stands and about 70 acres were in standing scrub which was cleared by tractors. Last Friday, when a Putaruru Press representative visited the area, the team of

planters were busy with spade and seedlings on a hillside. The company is planting year-old radiata seedlings and two-year-old Douglas firs, and it is expected that the planting of this season's 400 acres will be completed next month. It is intended to plant 400 acres each year for the next four years. At the end of that time 2,000 acres of cutover native timber areas and scrub will be covered in exotic trees. The Taupo Totara Timber Company regards the purchase of the Tauri Tutukau bush in 1934 as one of the most important events in the firm's history. In that year | New Zealand was in the | depths of the slump and | every timber company was ; showing a heavy loss. With j most companies it was a hard struggle to survive and j buyers of bush were few and far between. | The company, nowever, had the Jiquid funds to purchase the Tauri Tutukau, then and still one of the finest blocks of native bush in New Zealand.