The Puriri Tree

I've always had a soft spot for the magnificent Puriri Tree. They grace our coastal margins with such reverence and beauty.  But they live a life on the edge of existence, a fragmented ecosystem with little or no regeneration to give them any hope of a future.

Over the years I have photographed them many times, mainly on field trips to the west coast extending from Raglan through to Port Waikato. Eventually, I put together a small photozine of some the photos as a keepsake for myself and others.  For the puriri won't be here forever. 

Excerpt from the photozine:
"...The puriri, like many native trees, has lived the fate of changing land use having been ravished by axe for its valuable hardwood, and cleared to make way for pasture for sheep and cattle. What mostly remains are scattered individual trees and small groves of remnant stands containing the imperfect specimens rejected by the woodsmen...".

The Puriri Monograph can be purchased here: The Puriri Tree

Arnold Cottage

A place in the landscape where sweet peas grew and children played – but no longer. I wish I could have talked with John Arnold. I wanted to know what it was like to raise 6 children in this home.

Courtesy of the Cambridge Museum:
Just out of the borough on Hamilton Road, this cottage is on its original fifty acre Military Grant given to John Arnold in 1866 at the end of his three year military service. The cottage is the last in the line of a progression from tent to raupo whare to cottage - increased throughout the Arnold family's lifetime as more children were born.

Maria Arnold, John's wife, grew sweet peas around the cottage from seeds she had brought from Australia in 1864. She also helped to run the Butchery on the Triangle Corner in Cambridge while John fattened cattle and grew oats. They raised six children and St Andrews Church bears a stained glass window to the memory of John and Maria Arnold.