The pōhutukawa tree had spent a couple of quiet centuries with just the company of birds before the first humans set foot on the beach below. But if the arrival of the waka caused a flurry in its branches, this was nothing in comparison with the upheavals that followed the sighting of European whaling boats on the horizon half a millennium later.
Now nearly 900 years old and with a trunk measuring more than 12m in circumference, the ancient tree is the most venerable inhabitant of a piece of land steeped in history and clothed in flora from all corners of the globe.
Butler Point is in Aotearoa’s Far North, across the harbour from Mangōnui alongside the small settlement of Hihi. For the past half-century, the 26-hectare property has been home to…
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Haven (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2021