With Tōtara: A Natural and Cultural History, Philip Simpson has produced a wonderful reflection on the ecological and cultural heritage of one of our most iconic native trees. This book follows on from the author’s earlier accounts of other native trees, Dancing with Leaves: The Story of New Zealand's Cabbage Tree, Tī Kōuka (2000) and Pōhutukawa and Rātā: New Zaland's Iron-Hearted Trees (2005). The 12 year wait since publication of his last book has certainly been worth it, as Tōtara: A Natural and Cultural History is a beautifully produced book full of attractive illustrations, a wealth of detailed information and some great anecdotes about tōtara. While mainly focusing on lowland tōtara, the book addresses all five tōtara taxa that occur in New Zealand—Hall's tōtara, snow tōtara, needle-leaved tōtara and South Westland tōtara. The book covers every aspect of tōtara, from its evolutionary history and place among the other conifers, its wood anatomy and reproduction, through its cultural significance to Māori and use by Māori and Pākehā, to a discussion on its role in creating our nation and its status and protection in New Zealand today.
There are many fascinating stories told in this book, and it is hard to single out a few to highlight here. It was interesting to read about the many uses of tōtara bark; and the illustrations of live tōtara trees that have been scarred as a result of collecting bark for pātua (food containers) are intriguing. But even more fascinating is the discussion around the shaping by Māori of living tōtara to form a tree that can be subsequently used to make a waka (canoe)—the planning across decades to centuries to achieve the desired effect must have been immense. The chapters on Pākehā use of tōtara and on the role of tōtara in creating our nation were also fascinating. While I was familiar with the role of lowland tōtara for building, and of both lowland and Hall's tōtara for fence posts, it was intriguing to read about the many other uses that were as diverse as cemetery markers, bridges and telegraph poles.
The book is also full of wonderful anecdotes and interesting facts, many drawn from the author’s own experiences growing up in Golden Bay where tōtara were a major feature of that landscape. I loved the childhood recollection of the author and his brother walking around their farm on the top of tōtara fence posts. And I was fascinated that bats, like kākā, strip bark from Hall’s tōtara to access the exuded sap. But more thought-provoking is the observation that while Pouakani, our largest known tōtara at 3.9 m diameter, is comparable in size to Tāne Mahuta, there were tōtara with trunks up to 6 m in diameter on Banks Peninsula when European settlers first started clearing the forest. Just as we mourn the loss of the giant kauri of the north, we should also lament the loss of the giant tōtara that would have occurred across all of New Zealand. This is the theme that the author returns to in the last two chapters of the book, where he documents the decline of tōtara and their protection today. One positive note, right near the end of the book, is the recent interest in managing natural regenerating tōtara in Northland as an economic resource that can also contribute to biodiversity conservation across the farmland on which these young stands grow.
If there is one thing that I really liked about this book, it is how it is as much a narrative about the settlement and building of New Zealand as a nation as it is about tōtara the tree. It is easy to forget tōtara when we think about New Zealand’s dominant trees; others that usually come to mind first include the majestic kauri of the north, now facing immense challenges, the graceful kahikatea of our flood plains and the extensive beech forests mantling our mountain backbone. But it is tōtara that occurs throughout New Zealand, from the mighty lowland tōtara in the north to the twisted gnarled compact snow tōtara of the subalpine zone. Thank you, Philip, for another lovely book, one that should grace the bookshelf and coffee table of anyone with an interest in New Zealand's ecological and cultural heritage.