Marnie Anstis
TAKETAKERAU: PERHAPS OUR OLDEST TREE
In the beginning, dense rainforest smothered the slopes; a lush, verdant tapestry, a green velvet cloak.
Trees, shrubs and ferns, along with birds and insects, all lived in balance or died from what nature threw at them – storms, droughts, volcanoes – or became victims in the natural order of things.
Then humans arrived. The vast tapestry was slashed; the protective cloak removed.
Man, and accompanying mammals, made their mark in Aotearoa. But within this slash and burn, kill and devour, some forest remnants remained. One such example of natural bush is in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
One hundred years ago, a small reserve, the Hukutaia Domain near Opotiki, was preserved to protect an enormous, ancient pūriri; tapu because it once had been a burial tree for the bones of distinguished Māori. Standing at centre-stage, Taketakerau is estimated to be 2000, perhaps even 2500, years old.
It is a commanding sight. For nearly 45 years, I have known and stood in awe of this ancient, living icon and imagined it as a seedling. And wonder, why does this tree still live? How has it survived storms, droughts, volcanoes? Why has it not become a victim of the natural order of things?
Further north in kauri forests, Tāne Mahuta is estimated to be within the same age range. But Tāne Mahuta is not alone. Several other brothers in that forest are of similar age. Yet, I know of no other pūriri tree that is as ancient, gnarled and groaning with history as Taketakerau.
One day, Taketakerau, too, will succumb, and only then, once it has been analysed, will we learn its true history; what secrets it still holds and the stories it can tell. Come see it while you can.
The pūriri Taketakerau is estimated to be 2000, perhaps even 2500, years old.