The Kauri Museum, Matakohe, Northland, New Zealand - 7min 23 Scs

The Award Winning Kauri Museum at Matakohe is one of New Zealands foremost theme museums, located just 90 minutes north of Auckland, off State Highway12 and en-route to the ancient Kauri trees of the Waipoua Forest.

The Kauri Museum tells the stories of the pioneering settlers through the theme of this mighty Kauri Tree..the second largest tree in the worldhow it shaped the lives of these pioneers through its superb timber and its highly sought after resin or gum

The many galleries of the museum show the trees themselves, to the timber they produced, and the buildings, furniture and crafts they inspired.

The displays focus on the makeshift settlements around logging camps, the gumfields and the lives of merchants who were among the few you could afford to buy the fine kauri furniture or beautifully carved gum

It also records the Museums wonderful collection of arts and crafts devised from the gum of the trees,
and houses the largest collection of kauri gum in the world.

Displays include a huge 22-metre slab of kauri, a replica of a working sawmillrestored operational machinery a completely furnished 1900s kauri boarding house.. panels of New Zealand native trees and magnificent early New Zealand furniture.
A pioneer church, school and post office are part of the complex along with vast collections of original photographs and pioneering memorabilia

[pinballrobbie]

A must see if you are in the area, loads of heavy machinery for the guys and fashion history for the ladies . Great for kids also.

[Dug]

I use old Kauri as a foundry pattern maker in NZ. Our timber rack had a section of old Kauri table tops, masts, keels and the like.
Kauri is very dimensional stable, straight grained and knot free. The best of the timber was used for master patterns that need to stay as good as the day they where made in years to come.
My prize possession is an electric guitar that I made the body for out of Kauri as an apprentice.
I remember the Dunedin Early settlers museum had a great room of Kauri furniture, it was disappointing to go to the new Early Settlers Museum building and there was not even space set aside for one piece of the furniture.
I hope this museum acquired some of it because it is a shame outer wise for it not to be on display.