About Kauri

Brief Overview of the Kauri Tree

The Kauri Tree is one of New Zealand's largest tree species and is also one of the world's largest and longest living trees. Kauri forests are some of the world's oldest, its ancestors date back to the Jurassic period, 190 million years ago. Living Kauri Trees have been dated at 4,000 years old, though none of these trees are still alive today. There is an ancient Kauri tree alive in New Zealand named Tāne Mahuta (meaning 'Lord of the Forest' in Maori). It's 51m (168ft) tall and a 4.4m (14ft) in diameter at the trunk. The tree is thought to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old.

Kauri timber is very strong and from the mid 1800s kauri forests were cut down and used for building boats and houses. By the year 1900 less than 10% of the original Kauri population was left standing. This provoked major efforts to preserve the native tree and it is now prohibited to cut down any living trees.

Swamp Kauri

Thousands of years ago a number of huge natural disasters caused many Kauri forests to be flattened and the trees to be buried in swamps. The wood was perfectly preserved and radiocarbon dating has revealed that some of this wood has been buried for up to 50,000 years. This makes the Swamp Kauri we use for all our creations the oldest workable wood in the world.

Kauri Creations and Innovations

At Kauri Creations and Innovations we exclusively work with Ancient Swamp Kauri. We pride ourselves in our knowledge and skill to create the highest quality products out of this ancient timber. Getting the wood from a raw stump, straight from the ground, into a finished product is a lengthy process. This process includes, removing the dirt and peat out of the extravagant root structures, drying the wood, working it into natural shapes of all sizes, and careful application of different finishes to enhance the natural beauty of this unique and precious timber. 

At The Kauri Clock Factory there is a large range of hand crafted artifacts for sale. Come down and visit our friendly staff at the factory or browse our store online.