Photo essay

Neck of the Woods

July 9, 2021

We took a tour around some of Tauranga's most notable, historic and majestic trees so you can feast your eyes upon them in all their glory. Now go and seek them out in real life!

An immense puriri in the parkland at Maungawhare.

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Maungawhare in Ōtūmoetai has four of these large Norfolk pines that were planted between 1884 and 1890. One was previously the tallest in the Bay of Plenty until it was struck by lightning in 1978.

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The tītoki at Ōtūmoetai Pā is steeped in history and thought to be the oldest tree in Tauranga along with the sprawling Pōhutukawa at Pitau Road Reserve (below) － both about 300 years old.

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A mighty tōtara at Maungawhare － public entry to parkland is from Parkvale Rd, Ōtūmoetai.

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The Elms, Tauranga's historic former Mission Station, was founded in 1835. Reverend Brown purchased some of the
land in 1873 for a family home, naming it The Elms, as there were more than 50 elm trees on-site at the time.
He planted this beautiful oak, as well as the Norfolk pines that stand to this day.

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Photography by Christopher Duffy