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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]

Forests

Forests.

The forest land lies mostly along the sea coast. Otago and Southland lie in what has been termed the southern redpine district; that is to say, the predominating tree is the rimu. Other woods of commercial and industrial value are kahikatea or white pine, miro, matai, totara, hinau, pahautea or cedar, and the southern rata. This last attains great dimensions in the Tautuku forest, the most important and extensive bush in Otago. It is about forty miles long and fifteen miles broad, and lies on the border line of Southland and Otago. The other principal forest areas are north of Dunedin, east of the Tapanui mountains, in the Clutha valley, in the upper Waikaia valley, and towards the north-west coast. In this last, and generally in the mountain region of Otago and Southland, the prevailing tree is the beech, the tawhai of the Maoris, and the birch of the settlers. Between the 1000 and 4000 feet levels, the beech is the characteristic forest tree all over the South Island. The rimu and kahikatea are often found above a thousand feet, yet they rarely grow to perfection; while on the other hand, the beeches, though they grow occasionally in considerable quantities on the sea level, are at their best above 1000 feet. The tooth-leaved beech (black birch) is in these regions the most valuable of all the forest trees. It is found of large size and in extraordinary luxuriance round Lake Te Anau. The silver beech and entire-leaved beech (tawhai) are found as far south as the Tautuku forest and Preservation Inlet. None of the beeches reach so far south as Stewart Island, which is in many parts covered with a dense growth of rimu and rata.

A great deal of the timber in Otago and Southland, especially in the dense forests of the Fiord country, is not likely to be available during the present gene ration for commercial purposes, as the country is, from the sawmiller's point of view, at present quite impracticable. A certain amount of bush, especially in Southland, has been already cleared away; but it will never be worth the trouble to cut out most of the magnificent forests that form one of the chief glories of the Alpine wonderland. In Southland, including Stewart Island, about 500,000 acres are still bush covered; but the bush land at present suitable for commercial purposes lies around Forest Hill, Hokonui, and Waikawa, and in Stewart Island.