Rākau Rangatira (Chiefly Trees)
Rimu
Historically, Rimu and other native trees such as Kauri, Matai and Totara were the main sources of wood for New Zealand, including furniture and house construction. Over-logging has seen native Rimu plantations wiped out and replaced with Pinus Radiata. Rimu used to also be known as "Red Pine".
Kahikatea
Soot of the Kahikatea heartwood was used in tāmoko (traditional tattooing). Its long straight trunks made it ideal for making canoes. Its gum resin was chewed. Māori legend says that the huge stands of Kahikatea that once grew throughout New Zealand were all created from a single branch of a tree that was carried to Aotearoa by ocean currents. The berries (koroī) were once a source of food.
Miro
Water from boiled leaves of makomako was used as an antiseptic or made into a poultice. It was also used as a treatment for rheumatism. Warmed leaves were applied to burns to help them heal.
A concoction from bark soaked in cold water soothed sore eyes. The juice from the berries made a refreshing drink despite smelling and tasting like turpentine.
Matai
Bees collect pollen from the small yellow catkins in October and November while the round blue-black fruit is enjoyed by kākā and wood pigeons. Although quite slimy the fruit are sweet and were eaten by early Māori. When mataī was being felled for timber, bushmen drilled the base of standing trees to collect a sap known as mataī beer.
Totara
Whirinaki Forest has groves of very tall Tōtara (over 40 metres high) with massive trunks. Due to its durability, Tōtara wood was often used for fence posts, floor pilings, and railway sleepers. It was the primary wood used to make waka in traditional Māori boat building due to its relatively light weight (about 25% lighter than Kauri), long, straight lengths, and natural oils in the wood that help prevent rotting.
Ngā Manu (The Birds)
Piwakawaka
North Island Kaka
Piwakawaka
NZ Fantail
Size: 16cm
Weight: 8g
Pūrākau:Tiwakawaka is also the name of a grandson of the demi-god and folk hero Maui (Maui-potiki). He was one of the first Māori settlers to arrive in the Bay of Plenty more than 1000 years ago, well before the main migrations.
Conservation Status: Stable
Tui
North Island Kaka
Piwakawaka
Tūī
Size: 40cm
Weight: Male: 2.2kg
Female: 2.8kg
Pūrākau: The Robin was also known as Karuwai (water eye) because of its watery eyes. The bird’s call was thought to bring good or bad news, depending on the time and place.
Conservation Status: Stable
Crowned Kakariki
North Island Kaka
North Island Kaka
NZ Parakeet
Size: 40cm
Weight: Male: 2.2kg
Female: 2.8kg
Pūrākau: The patches of red on the birds' rumps are, according to legend, the blood of the demigod Tāwhaki.
Conservation Status: Critical
North Island Kaka
North Island Kaka
North Island Kaka
NZ Parrot
Size: 45 cm
Weight: 452 g
History: One of two game birds that Māori once hunted for food. The other game bird was the Kereru.
Conservation Status: Recovering
Kereru
Karearea
Kereru
NZ Pigeon
Size: 51cm
Weight: 650 grams
Pūrākau: The legendary trickster Māui wanted to find out where his mother, Taranga, went during the day. Māui changed into a white Kererū to follow her, still holding the skirt, which became the bird’s beautiful multicoloured plumage.
Conservation Status: Nationally vulnerable
Whio
Karearea
Kereru
Blue Duck
Size: 53 to 54 cm
Weight: Males: up to 1,077g
Females: up to 870g
Pūrākau: Whio means whistle in Māori. Whio are a taonga (treasured) species having a strong cultural, spiritual, and historic connection with Māori.
Conservation Status: Endangered
Karearea
Karearea
Karearea
NZ Falcon
Size: 40 cm and 50 cm.
Weight: Males up to 350g Females: up to 720g.
Pūrākau The Kārearea’s cry was believed to foretell the weather.
Conservation Status: Recovering
Pekapeka
Karearea
Karearea
Long/Short Tailed Bat
Weigh: 8-11g
Pūrākau: Māori associate them with the mythical bird, Hokioi, which foretells disaster.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Our only native land mammal. Short-tailed bats are far more rare but also make their home in NZ forests.