Kauri gum

[1] Even afterwards, ancient kauri fields and the remaining forests continued to provide a source for the gum.

Lumps commonly fall to the ground and can be covered with soil and forest litter, eventually fossilising.

[10] Kauri gum was Auckland's main export in the second half of the 19th century, sustaining much of the early growth of the city.

[15] Kauri gum shares a few characteristics with amber, another fossilised resin found in the Northern Hemisphere.

"[17] Gum-diggers worked in the old kauri fields, most of which were then covered by swamp or scrub, digging for gum.

It was extremely hard work and not well paid, but it attracted many Maori and European settlers, including women and children.

[19] They were transient workers, rather than settlers, and much of their income was sent out of the country, resulting in resentment from the local workforce.

In 1898, the "Kauri Gum Industry Act" was passed, which reserved gum-grounds for British subjects, and requiring all other diggers to be licensed.

[21] Gum-digging was not restricted to settlers or workers in the rural areas; Auckland families would cross the Waitematā Harbour by ferry at weekends to dig in the fields around Birkenhead, causing damage to public roads and private farms, and leading to local council management of the problem.

[25] Holes were often dug by teams in both hills and swamps—often up to 12m deep—and some wetlands were drained to aid in the excavation of gum.

Due to the damage caused to the trees by the cutting the practice was banned in state forests in 1905.

[29] As early as the 1830s and 1840s, merchants, including Gilbert Mair and Logan Campbell, were buying gum from local Māori for £5 ($8.25) a ton or trading it for goods.

[9] The majority of the gum was exported to America and London (from whence it was distributed throughout Europe), although smaller amounts were sent to Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Russia.