Woodhill Forest facts for kids

Te Ngahere o Woodhill, also known as Woodhill Forest, is a large forest made of pine trees located northwest of Auckland, New Zealand. It's a commercial forest, meaning the trees are grown to be harvested and used for wood.

This forest covers about 12,500 hectares (that's like 125 square kilometers!) of the Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Peninsula. It stretches from Muriwai in the south all the way to South Head in the north.

Woodhill Forest is a very popular place for many fun outdoor activities. People come here for horse riding, 4WD (four-wheel drive) adventures, trail biking, and mountain biking. You can also play paintball, try tree climbing adventures, and even do orienteering, which is like a treasure hunt using a map and compass. Sometimes, movies or TV shows are filmed here too!

Most activities in the forest need a special permit, which you usually have to pay for. The forest is built on sand, which helps make its trails good for use in all kinds of weather.

How Woodhill Forest Started

Long ago, the land where Woodhill Forest now stands was covered in native plants. But when British settlers arrived with their farm animals like sheep and cattle, the land started to erode badly. Erosion means the soil and sand are washed or blown away, often by wind or water.

By the 1870s, grazing animals were causing big problems along the coast. Reports from 1873 even mentioned fully grown trees being buried by huge sand dunes! In just a few years, an area could change from a green bush to a sandy desert.

Early Efforts to Stop Sand

To try and stop the sand from spreading, the first New Zealand Forest Act was passed in 1874. However, not much was done right away. The amount of drifting sand kept growing. In 1880, about 46,000 hectares of coastal sand were moving, and by 1909, this had grown to a massive 120,000 hectares.

In 1903, a new law called the Sand Drift Act was introduced. But it wasn't until 1913 that the Public Works Department started serious efforts to stabilize the sand. By 1924, only a small area of 65 hectares at Woodhill had been planted with special grasses called marram.

The Great Depression's Role

The problem of moving sand kept getting worse each year. However, a tough time in history called the Great Depression actually helped the New Zealand coastline. The Great Depression was a period in the 1930s when many people lost their jobs and money.

The Public Works Department was in charge of helping unemployed people. They had about 80,000 people who needed work, so they put them to work on big projects to stabilize sand all around the country.

In 1932, planting marram grasses began in a big way. After the grasses, lupins (another plant) and then pine tree seedlings were planted. At Woodhill, there were four camps, each with 20 to 30 men, working all year round. Supplies came from nearby farms, and plants came from a nursery. This area, which was once just a barren wasteland of sand dunes, slowly started to change.

A very important person in this effort was A.A. Restall, the Forest Manager at Woodhill. He brought in new machines and methods that greatly increased the amount of planting. His work helped turn the tide against the spreading sand at Woodhill. Restall's methods became a model for other sand reclamation projects in New Zealand and even around the world.

Woodhill Forest Today

In the 1980s, Woodhill Forest, like many other forests managed by the New Zealand Forest Service, became privately owned. This was part of a government plan called Rogernomics, where state-owned businesses were sold. Woodhill became a "Licensed Crown Forest."

At first, people could still walk in the forest for free. But other activities were only allowed if the new owners gave permission. This was the beginning of charging for recreation in the forest.

Ownership by Ngāti Whātua

In 2014, a long-standing claim by the local Māori tribe, Ngati Whatua o Kaipara, was finally settled. This settlement was part of the Treaty of Waitangi process, which addresses historical issues between the Māori people and the New Zealand government.

The settlement gave Ngati Whatua o Kaipara the chance to buy Woodhill Forest from the Crown (the government). Now, Ngati Whatua manages the recreational areas and other activities in Woodhill Forest. However, another company, Hancock Forest Management, still has a license to cut down trees for the next 35 years. As they cut trees, the land gradually returns to Ngati Whatua.

Today, all recreation in Woodhill Forest, whether it's an organized event or just a regular visit, requires payment. Walking or dog walking is no longer supported by the current owners without a permit.