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New Zealand has been exporting forest products for as long as there has been a forest industry.
Early explorers recognised the suitability of tall, straight kauri stems as spars for sailing vessels, and those plus huge amounts of lumber were sold to builders in Australia and the UK from the early 1800s. For a period, the forest industry was the country's major export earner. But the rate of harvest was unsustainable and by the beginning of the 20th century indigenous timber exports were rapidly declining.
The domestic market also had a major part to play in the utilisation of natural timbers during settlement and development of New Zealand. Wood was easily accessible and relatively cheap, and in many cases was regarded as an impediment to land clearance. A tradition of wooden houses developed, supported by the recognition that they were less prone to sudden collapse during earthquakes, a not infrequent event in the young colony |