Wood: a valuable resource in New Zealand's economy

this part of the world. But in addition to demand from the domestic market, there was also a demand for forest products from overseas. Early explorers recognised the suitability of the tall, straight trunks of the kauri for constructing sailing vessels. The kauri is a species of coniferous tree found only in small areas of the southern hemisphere. So from the early 1800s, huge amounts of this type of wood were sold to Australia and the UK for that purpose. For a period, the forestry industry was the country’s major export earner, but the rate of harvest was unsustainable and, by the beginning of the 20th century, indigenous timber exports were rapidly declining.