NZ Visual Diary - entry 322
Secondhand Rose - Kohukohu
After Kupe and his wife Kuramārōtini returned to Hawaiiki with news of an enchanted land they had named Aotearoa - land of the long, white cloud - the migration of Polynesian peoples to the North & South Islands of Aotearoa New Zealand began in earnest.
I did not have to speculate about the attractions that brought Māori to the Hokianga region. The area’s spectacular natural beauty and bountiful resources, perhaps most notably fabled Kauri trees, rendered conjecture unnecessary. The region personifies sylvan splendour.
For early European settlers, the first of whom arrived in Kohukohu in 1819, the region was equally alluring. Waves of Pākehā [European] settlers inundated the region and Kohukohu was quickly established as the home of a burgeoning timber industry.
Today, the population of Kohukohu is much diminished, numbering in the hundreds. The once thriving timber and dairy industries have withered and, with their demise, the out-migration pressures intensified as young people migrated to cities in search of work. A string of seven tragic fires, beginning with a mill fire in 1882, ravished the city centre over the late 19th century and across the 20th century, further depressing the population base. 1
Nonetheless, Kohukohu continues to be an important cultural heritage site and a most worthy destination for the curious tourist. Indeed, with today’s photograph I have attempted to represent a dominant impression from my brief time in Kohukohu: of feeling the powerful presence of an abiding pride of place.
visitor’s pamphlet ‘Kohukohu - Historic Village Walk’ produced by the Kohukohu Community Trust/Village Arts.