Timber was one of New Zealand’s most abundant commodities when settlers arrived in the mid-1800s. Most of the country (close to 80%) was covered in bush and forests containing trees that were perfect for repairing ships’ spars and masts, and soon timber became the largest early industry of New Zealand; by the mid-1830s, about a third of the European men in New Zealand worked in the timber industry [2].

 

In the 1850s, a new tree species was introduced to the country: the Monterey Pine, Pinus Radiata, originally from California. It thrived in the more acidic volcanic soils of NZ, even more so than in its native environment, growing to maturity in just 28 years, almost 7 times faster [3][5].

 

Rimu and kauri were favourites, and large swathes would be cut down and used to build ships, houses and fences around the country[2][3]. So many trees and areas of forest were cleared, in fact, that some native species became threatened with extinction by 1913, even though laws were implemented to encourage planting of more trees[4]. Action was taken in 1918 to restrict timber exports, and legislation was passed requiring timber mills to put 60% of what they produced into the NZ market[1].

 

While this helped somewhat, native logging still continued at a near unsustainable rate, despite more legislation in 1925 to provide a financial incentive for planting forests of imported species [4][5] and mass planting in the 1920s and 30s and again in the 1960s [4][5]. Eventually, in 1986-7 the Department of Conservation and New Zealand Forestry Corporation split the government’s forest assets between them, protecting most of New Zealand’s native forest and further restricting the commercial harvesting of native timber [4].

 

By 2005, native forests covered about 25% of New Zealand, and native trees could only be logged on privately-owned land, provided it was sustainable [2]. Monterey Pine currently comprises 90% of New Zealand timber plantations, and New Zealand supplies about 30% of the world’s Radiata stocks[5].