Riverhead Forest

The forest is 4,846 hectares in size.[1] The forest is bordered by the Auckland townships of Huapai, Kumeū and Riverhead to the south, and the affluent rural community of Coatesville to the east.[1] To the north and west, the forest is bordered by rural areas of Rodney, including the West Auckland vineyards. The forest is named after the township of Riverhead.[1]

The coldest temperature recorded in the Auckland Region, −5.7 °C (21.7 °F) was recorded at Riverhead Forest in June 1936.[2]

The land was purchased from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei in the mid-1800s.[1] The future location of the Riverhead Forest was isolated, and so remained mostly unoccupied.[1] Originally a native forest primarily consisting of kauri trees, the area was logged and kauri gum was dug from the soil.[1] Gumdigging was profitable in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and at its peak there were 12 gumdigger camps in the Riverhead Forest area.[1] In the early 20th century as transport connections to the area improved, there was greater public pressure to release the land for agriculture.[1] In the 1920s, the New Zealand Government intended to divide the area into 36 allotments, as a part of the Riverhead Homestead Settlement scheme.[1] In 1926, the land was designated as a production forest by the state, after the Commissioner of Crown Lands suggested the area for this use a year earlier.[1] Private land within the forest borders was purchased by the state, and tree planting began in 1927,[1] with most of the forest planted by 1933.[3]

The first generation of pine trees failed, due to phosphate deficiency in the soil.[1] After this was identified as an issue in the 1950s, the pine forest began to thrive.[1] The findings at the Riverhead Forest were important for New Zealand forestry, as this led to forestry soils being tested to ensure a correct nutrient balance was available.[1]

The forest is owned by the New Zealand Government, and is administered by Carter Holt Harvey, which purchased tree cutting rights in 1990.[1]

The forest is known for biking and horse trails.[3][1] Riverhead Forest is host to events involving mountain bikers, four-wheel drive vehicles and dog sled drivers.[1] The forest is also popular in winter months for hunters looking for wild pigs,[1] and is the location of the longest running paintball field, which has been operating since 1985.[4]

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  View of the Riverhead Forest looking south towards Auckland
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  Recently felled section of the Riverhead Forest
• 
  Trail runners competing in the XTerra Trail Run Series in 2009
• 
  Remains of the Riverhead Forest mill