Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Local Focus: NZ's first all-female crew working in Kaingaroa Forest

Gavin Ogden
Gavin Ogden
Video Journalist, Tauranga, NZH Local Focus·NZ Herald·
28 Mar, 2019 09:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

It's a girl group of a very different kind - meet New Zealand's first all-female forestry team.

For one of the women in the crew, Lee Taiatini, it's been a real eye-opener.

"I thought there would be challenges but the only challenge is really getting up in the morning," she said. "But that's cool."

Lee Taiatini says it's been awesome. Photo / Gavin Ogden
Lee Taiatini says it's been awesome. Photo / Gavin Ogden

Taiatini said other, male-dominated crews expressed some doubts but that had only helped motivate the women.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They kind of think that we're not going to succeed in this area. But we're just here to prove them all wrong… that women can do this job. And so far, yeah it's been awesome."

The crew are working at Timberlands Kaingaroa Forest, near Waiotapu. And in this male dominated industry, one forestry company is going out on a limb.

"We're finding it hard to recruit guys or males into the industry. There's been a downturn in labour in every sector of the forestry industry and within I suppose the country," said
Joe Taute, Health and Safety Recruitment Officer for CNI.

"So next best step was to have a look at the females and see if they could handle it down here in the forest to start with. And work with them from there."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Joe Taute, Recruitment Officer, CNI. Photo / Gavin Ogden
Joe Taute, Recruitment Officer, CNI. Photo / Gavin Ogden

For the all-female recruitment drive, the company first looked internally, selecting former cook Truedy Taia to lead the charge.

"She's been involved with CNI for some time now, going out with crews and doing their cooking and cleaning. So it was obvious we could use her and it was just word of mouth from there," said Taute.

"I manage the girls," Taia said.

"I basically give them instructions on how to do their job, what our plans are for the day, identify all the hazards in the area and make sure they know where all our safe areas are and stuff, where our evac points are."

Discover more

Watch: Fast growing suburb gets a $30m fast lane

14 Mar 08:00 PM
Politics

Local Focus: Morrinsville proud of their world leader

29 Mar 02:24 PM
New Zealand

Local Focus: Chinese cultural showcase coming to Te Puke

29 Mar 05:55 AM
Truedy Taia leads the crew. Photo / Gavin Ogden
Truedy Taia leads the crew. Photo / Gavin Ogden

Taia went from cook to crew leader in just four years and, when it comes to working in a man's world, she's not one to beat around the bush.

"Women are more than capable of doing this work as well. I was happy to give it a good go to show everyone out there that us women can achieve as much as the men.

"I think we just have a better culture as women. We're a great crew together, so far.

"Everybody gets on, there's no dramas... you know when women get together there can be a whole lot of drama - but no, we're good."

"Everybody gets on, there's no dramas". Photo / Gavin Ogden
"Everybody gets on, there's no dramas". Photo / Gavin Ogden

Each day is an early start for the crew, who assemble at 5.30 in the morning. From there they head out into the forest, whatever the weather.

"We've been doing regen pulling - pulling out all the trees that have grown from the pine cones or pulling out the trees that have been planted too close to each other because they have specific distances that they need to be," said Pam Purdie.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I was volunteering at the Salvation Army and studying. Then I just wanted something different and this came up. I knew it was generally male-dominated but I like being outdoors and it was something different from what I've done in the past. It was appealing that it was going to be an all women crew too.

Pam Purdie wanted something different. Photo / Gavin Ogden
Pam Purdie wanted something different. Photo / Gavin Ogden

And what's the reaction been from the guys?

"A little bit of doubt from some but that's to be expected because we're women," said Taia. "But most are pretty happy that we're giving it a go."

Made with funding from

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

‘Nowhere is safe’: The business preparing communities for the next natural disaster

21 Feb 05:04 PM
Sport

Chiefs extend dominance over Highlanders with eighth straight win

21 Feb 08:01 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

New-look commuter challenge launches in Tauranga

21 Feb 01:04 AM

Sponsored

Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk

09 Feb 09:12 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

‘Nowhere is safe’: The business preparing communities for the next natural disaster
Bay of Plenty Times

‘Nowhere is safe’: The business preparing communities for the next natural disaster

Founder Hamish Coulter launched Crisis Bunker after seeing Cyclone Gabrielle's impact.

21 Feb 05:04 PM
Chiefs extend dominance over Highlanders with eighth straight win
Sport

Chiefs extend dominance over Highlanders with eighth straight win

21 Feb 08:01 AM
New-look commuter challenge launches in Tauranga
Bay of Plenty Times

New-look commuter challenge launches in Tauranga

21 Feb 01:04 AM


Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk
Sponsored

Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk

09 Feb 09:12 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP