Te Matua Ngahere

Te Matua Ngahere
Te Matua Ngahere
Te Matua Ngahere is located in New Zealand
Te Matua Ngahere
Te Matua Ngahere
SpeciesKauri (Agathis australis)
Coordinates35°36′27″S 173°31′43″E / 35.60750°S 173.52861°E / -35.60750; 173.52861
Height29.9 m (98 ft)
Girth16.41 m (53.8 ft)
Volume of trunk208.1 m3 (7,350 cu ft)

Te Matua Ngahere is a giant kauri (Agathis australis) coniferous tree in the Waipoua Forest of Northland Region, New Zealand. The tree's Māori name means "Father of the Forest".[1] Although not as massive or tall as its neighbour Tāne Mahuta, Te Matua Ngahere is stouter, with a girth just over 16 metres (52 ft). It is believed to be the second largest living kauri tree,[2] and to have the biggest girth of any kauri in the country.[3] According to The New Zealand Herald, it has the biggest girth of any tree in New Zealand.[4]

As there is no means of reliably measuring the tree's age, it has been variously estimated to be between 1,200 and 2,000 years old;[5] or between 2,000 and 3,000 years old;[4] or even 4,000 years old.[6] One resource, published by National Geographic Books, claims that Te Matua Ngahere may be the oldest tree in New Zealand,[7] while another suggests that it is the oldest rainforest tree on Earth.[6]

Greatly revered by the Māori, Te Matua Ngahere is watched over by many local Māori Guardians.[8] The tree, a remnant of the ancient rainforest that once grew on the North Auckland Peninsula,[9][10] has a relationship with other flora, such as orchids, clubmoss, and a rata tree that grew on it.[11] Unfortunately, the Te Matua Ngahere suffered severe damage in July 2007, due to extreme winter storms in Northland when the rata, which was growing on top of Te Matua Ngahere, was felled by strong storm winds,[9] and took with it the central leader of Te Matua Ngahere plus several of its branches, thus shortening its expected lifespan by hundreds of years.[4]

  1. ^ Burstall, Stanley Walter; Sale, Edmund Vernon; New Zealand Forest Service (1984). Great trees of New Zealand. Reed. ISBN 978-0-589-01532-9. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  2. ^ Flagler, Bette (30 January 2007). New Zealand. Hunter Publishing, Inc. pp. 83–. ISBN 978-1-58843-597-2. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  3. ^ Smitz, Paul (22 April 2005). Australia & New Zealand on a shoestring. Lonely Planet. pp. 552–. ISBN 978-1-74059-646-6. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Eriksen, Alanah May (July 13, 2007). "Storm takes heart of forest king". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  5. ^ Bain, Carolyn; Dunford, George (2006). New Zealand. Lonely Planet. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-1-74104-535-2. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  6. ^ a b Neilson, Mary; Collins, Mathew (March 2005). Going to Live in New Zealand. How To Books Ltd. pp. 169–. ISBN 978-1-85703-965-8. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  7. ^ Jackson, Barbara (9 September 2008). New Zealand. National Geographic Books. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-1-4263-0301-2. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  8. ^ Suchantke, Andreas (1 March 2001). Eco-geography. SteinerBooks. pp. 193–. ISBN 978-0-940262-99-7. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Storm takes heart of forest king". The New Zealand Herald. July 13, 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Te Matua Ngahere Walk". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pakenham2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).