Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

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 / Northland Age

Tane Mahuta not in danger yet

Northland Age
10 Jul, 2018 01:30 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

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

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

    Share this article

Tane Mahuta might be vulnerable but is not in immediate danger of dying.

Tane Mahuta might be vulnerable but is not in immediate danger of dying.

There are no plans at the moment to close the walkway to the world's most famous kauri and other iconic trees in Waipoua Forest.

Nor will Tane Mahuta, New Zealand's biggest and oldest tree, be dead within a year, as claimed by some who accuse the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) of not acting quickly enough to protect it from kauri dieback.

According to a Lincoln University study, one in three kauri tested at all sites have shown signs of dieback disease (Phytophthora agathidicida), and Waipoua Forest could be the worst affected of all.

Dr Amanda Black, a member of the university's bio-protection research team, predicted recently that Tane Mahuta would be infected within a year, which has since been incorrectly repeated as dead within a year.

A Department of Conservation spokesman said there was no evidence that Tane Mahuta was infected, and if it was, because of its size, deterioration would occur over many years, not months.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

However, DoC confirmed that the Lord of the Forest was at risk because of its proximity to infected kauri in a separate catchment, which had been actively managed for many years. Dieback was first discovered in Waipoua in 2010. Now lesions have been seen on another tree in that catchment, about 160m from Tane Mahuta.

The spores of the kauri phytophthora are primarily spread through water and soil.

Contaminated and little-used tracks to other Waipoua kauri have been closed to the public, but DoC believes the Tane Mahuta boardwalk and cleaning station are of a standard that should not enable the disease to spread, as long as visitors comply.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The Tane Mahuta site is one of the most well-mitigated areas in the country, and is protected by boardwalks, cleaning stations and ambassadors monitoring and managing for the risk. We are confident that the risk of further spread due to human vectors is low in this forest," a spokesman said.

When the disease settles in soil at a kauri's base it enters through the root system, making its way into the trunk and branches. Trees effectively starve to death over a period of several years. There is no known remedy.

DoC is working with the MPI, local iwi Te Roroa and other stakeholders to ensure the Waipoua risk is managed. Te Roroa met with experts specialising in kauri dieback recently, to discuss protection measures for the culturally significant site.

For the foreseeable future, the response will comprise ongoing testing, monitoring and pig control, and visitor education.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants

Northland Age

Kaikohe to welcomes two officers in unity ceremony at marae

Northland Age

'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants
Northland Age

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants

Sea spurge, an invasive weed, was found at Spirits Bay, 60km from the nearest site.

16 Jul 04:00 AM
Kaikohe to welcomes two officers in unity ceremony at marae
Northland Age

Kaikohe to welcomes two officers in unity ceremony at marae

16 Jul 02:00 AM
'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister
Northland Age

'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister

15 Jul 03:26 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 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
  • The Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • 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
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP