Toitū te Kauri
This lofty project had its humble beginnings, more than 25 years ago, with a scattering of kauri seedlings in the Kūaotunu garden of Cliff Heraud. As Cliff contemplated what to do with these baby kauri, the ‘seed’ of an idea came about. He got up one morning and said to wife Julie, “We’re going to plant a kauri forest for the Millenium.” Hence a lasting and meaningful project was mooted to mark the new century, Kauri 2000. Kūaotunu local and fellow conservationist Vivienne Mclean, was one of the original Trustees. Many a rumoured whiskey and deep conversation were had as the project took off.
Coromandel kauri had been ruthlessly milled over the past two centuries and mostly shipped offshore for spars and furniture … canopy forest, habitat and a natural heritage lost. Cliff attracted like-minded folk to help create the Kauri 2000 Trust with the goal of planting kauri to restore our whenua for future generations to enjoy.
Dame Catherine Tizard welcomed the opportunity to become Patron and was present at the inaugural planting in the Kauaeranga Valley in August 1999.
The original goal of planting 2000 trees to commemorate the new millennium took on a life of its own. Donations poured into the Trust, kauri were ‘given’ as gifts, as memorials, to commemorate birthdays or for no reason other than a belief in the kaupapa (scheme).
Prime Minister Helen Clark planting the 10,000th tree during Conservation Week 2001 was considered a massive milestone, but there was much more to come.
Local institutions got involved, including the Outdoor Language Centre, primary and area schools. Hard work and learning went hand in hand as students became part of an amazing legacy. This project captured the imagination of thousands including the team at BNZ Markets who were about to release BNZ bonds, which they named ‘Kauri Bonds’, on the international financial markets. For every bond sold, they would donate 100 kauri seedlings and come help to plant them. This was a truly wonderful partnership which saw hundreds of kauri in the ground.
With the committed support of volunteers, iwi, local councils, Department of Conservation, the Lotto Millennium Fund, landowners, and Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency), over 55,000 kauri were planted in the 25 year+ life of the Trust.
This work often wasn’t easy, planting areas that were steep or difficult to access in lines cut through 4m high scrub dominated by manuka and hardwood. The plantings took on the life of military maneuvers, so precise were the plans of chairperson Vivienne Mclean and forestry advisor Max Johnston.
Upon the discovery of Kauri Dieback disease, the trust supported workshops around the peninsula to educate contractors, farmers, hunters and the general public. Over the years, the Trust also battled wilding pines and other pest species, Covid, the passing of beloved Trust members and supporters, and weather events. They have inspected and maintained trees planted in previous years, releasing them from encroaching bush and weeds – all this done with good humour and great camaraderie. The kauri plantings now span from Waihi in the south to beyond Coromandel town in the North.
Cliff Heraud was awarded a QSM in 2013 and following his death in 2015 the trust planted 92 kauri, one for each of his years, on the Black Jack Hill, Kūaotunu. Vivienne McLean was awarded a well-deserved QSM in 2015 for her services to conservation.
A celebratory but poignant closing of the Trust occurred on the 28th March 2026 at the Kūaotunu Hall. Past and present trustees, donors, supporters and volunteers attended.
Alison Henry, chair for the past 15 years, spoke eloquently and passionately of the scale of the project, the camaraderie and enduring legacy of the past quarter century of hard mahi.
Trustee and organiser of the celebration, Jill Kaeppeli, read words from original Trustee Vivienne McLean (now retired with husband Percy to Whanganui) resulting in both laughs and more than a few moist eyes.
This was also current trust chair Alison Henry’s farewell to the Coromandel as she and her husband Alan have now departed for a new chapter in Hamilton.
A special thanks goes to all businesses who have sponsored over the years and to every individual who has donated money, trees or time to this project. Toitū te kauri.
Words by Deli Connell
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