100 (or so) years on - the development and contribution of NZFS to forestry and forestry practice in New Zealand (Part 1 - to 1939)

Authors: Peter Berg
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2023, Issue N.Z.J.For. 68(2) 2023, pp 27 - 33, Aug 2023
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: Almost 104 years ago on 1 September 1919 the New Zealand State Forest Service (NZFS) commenced operating in Wellington. It wasn’t the first attempt to establish a formal government agency to manage the country’s forests, but it was the one that was enduring. It continued for 67 years and seven months until 31 March 1987 when it was felled by what some considered to be a lack of financial transparency and what for others was the ideology of a new and better way. Today, 36 years after the passing of the department, and irrespective of any views about its disestablishment, it is clear that those 67 years of effort resulted in a major resurgence for forestry and a sustained contribution to the national economy.

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