PHOTO: HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND
A 194-year-old oak tree, believed to be New Zealand’s oldest, has toppled over.
The oak, in Northland, survived fire, witnessed the emergence of one of New Zealand’s first mission stations and the country’s first European-style farm, lived through the Northern Wars, and was admired by naturalist Charles Darwin.
Last Sunday, however, a gust of wind proved too much and it came crashing down in a paddock at Waimate North, 15km northeast of Kaikohe.
The tree started its life as an acorn brought by ship from England in 1824 by pioneering missionary Richard Davis.
