Matakohe is a small town close to Dargaville north of Auckland. It is on the tourist route to and from the Bay of Islands. This museum at Matakohe is well worth the stop. It has on display many examples of the kauri gum that was collected in the 19th Century for use mainly in paintmaking. Also there are cuts longitudinally of several trunks of trees that are most impressive! More recently, Kauri has been recovered from swamps, having been preserved for thousands of years by the water. In the Waipoua Forest further north on the west coast from here, is a short walk into one of the largest still remaining kauri trees in the country...it is called Tane Mahutu.