History
The ancient tree is considered to be a natural heritage of New Zealand. It is generally considered to be over 1500 years old, and was first discovered by Nicholas Yakas in 1928 when he and his workers were building the State Highway 12 through the forest area. Forest conservationists estimate that such trees live for about 4000 years, but the life span of Te Matua Ngahere should shorten due to the damage from the 2007 storm winds. This storm also resulted in the fallen rata tree and other plants which are expected to provide excellent clues to the scientific ecological study of the fallen wood and plants.
Read more about this topic: Te Matua Ngahere
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