Kauri logging in the Tangihua Ranges

The effects of logging kauri trees can still be seen in the Tangihua forest.  Large tree stumps, the rotting heads about 10m away or more. There are tracks, dam foundations and gouge marks where the kauri trees were dragged through the bush surround the lodge.
The extraction occurred through out the forest with the most notable areas in Omana and the area around the lodge. There were several separate phases.

The first company to log the timber was The Kauri Timber company who owned the land. The company had several mills on the Northern Wairoa river where the logs were milled and then exported.
A contractor was selected to cut and deliver all  the standing trees to the Northern Wairoa River. They were then floated to the mills for processing.
The first contractor had a range of subcontractors. There were individual contracts to

This was all extremely labour and capital intensive and companies often went under.

The tree was cut down, the head cut off and the trunk dragged or jacked to a creek. Jacking meant using a timber jack to roll or push the log. Oxen were used to drag the logs as they could survive better in the bush than horses, even so they lost weight and would have to be taken out and spelled.
Throughout the forest, there are large grooves in the ground from the dragging of the logs. The Whakapono track is based on one and another can be found in the small patch of bush beside the lodge. ( see photo)
Once the logs were in or below the dams, they were flushed down stream by releasing the dams in a carefully timed manner.
They eventually reached the Northern Wairoa river via the Tauraroa river and then the Manganui.

As can be seen, there was a tremendous amount of wastage. There is a large kauri head (one of hundreds) lying just by the stream on the track to the confidence course. Much of this timber would now be used. There is another entire tree down on the way to the kauri grove.

Another wastage factor occurred because the contract stated all trees had to be cut down and delivered to the mills. Some trees were too hard to extract and to comply with the contract some were cut down and left.  Once cut down and in the bush the mill owner could not see them.

Not only was Kauri taken out, Totara, Rimu and Kaikatea were also milled.

Often trees were lost by sinking in the river. This timber was often found and dug up.  The wooden shed just past the bridge over the Pikawahine stream was built of this timber by Derek Smith in the 1970s. This is Totara which had a habit of sinking if it was not dried properly prior to entering the river.

With in 200m of the lodge there are 2 dam sites, tracks and gouge marks where the logs were dragged out. There are two more visible dams in the bush
The Pikawahine and Tauroa streams (now known as the Omana stream)  were formed by the companies extracting the Kauri logs.
The Pikawahine stream was formed by setting fire to a Rata tree down by the Tauraroa river. A Dalmation family dug a drain through the swamp towards the smoke. Once a drain was formed they released the dams and this blew out a bigger ditch capable of taking out the logs . Over time this ditch has eroded to the size it is now. This is why the stream is very straight once it reaches farm land

Below is a map showing the dam locations as blue lines.

The dam by the lodge:
Only has the earth works left. It can be found by walking into the bush by the DOC sign in the car park you will be walking along the top of the dam wall until you get to where it ends. The wooden part of the dam was sited here. There is a natural ridge running down and it is above a waterfall. This allowed for good fall increasing the power of the water released. The only thing left of wooden part of the dam is a notch in the stone for the wooden foundations.

Kauri dam walk.
This was the main dam and can be observed from a observation platform built by DOC only  some of the footings remain as does the dam on the west creek. The dam wall was just over 10m high.
The top dam can only be seen by notches in the bank.

for more detailed information: Omana through the years, Gerald Mannion  and an article in Tracks of the North. Hj hansen and FJ Neil based on the previous article.

1904-1906
The same system was used here except a tram way was included to haul the logs. There were two tram lines.
One ran up the gully north of omana road  to a shute running down the hill, which can still be seen.The logs were then jacked onto the trolleys and taken to the river.
The other ran up the gully where the rail way line goes. It came through a cutting where the stock yards are, not under the railway bridge. It turned into the gully before the tunnel and ran up and over a cutting on top of the ridge, where the road runs through and Hindrups house is, before going down to a holding dam

There was a steam engine and winch on top of the ridge. On the tram line The locomotive was a Merryweather tram no 85 built in 1878 called Cambria. It had previously been used as a tram in Wellington.

The logs were dragged or flushed down to a holding dam and then the bogies were then lowed into the water and the logs floated onto them. The bogies and log was then winched up to the top of the ridge and lowered down the other side where is was flat enough for the Cambria to operate.

The first contractor  ran into trouble with a big storm. One for the up stream dam operators panicked and released his dam, this blew out the holding dam distributing the logs down stream. In order to get the logs out the Tauroa stream was cut like the Pikawahine stream and blown out. The logs were flushed down stream to the Northern Wairoa via the Monganui river. This broke the company

Several companies extracted Kauri from here 1904-1906 Mr J McLean set it up and ran it until the storm. In 1907-1908 the Kaipara timber company used the tram line with a Kitson tram locomotive orginally from Dunedin city and they returned in 1915-1917 for another go.