Conclusion

It would be interesting to know the quantity of timber milled and the value of the timber sold. The first sawmillers were paid 5s to 10s per hundred feet (board measure) for their good timber and at times white pine could be had for the taking. Even in the early 1930s good timber could be bought for 8s to 16s per hundred feet. The small mills came and went, cutting out areas of bush in gullies and on hillsides which the bigger mills left. The crawler tractor was the greatest factor as the small mill owners brought logs from steep hill country that was impossible to work years ago.

Today the two mills operating are having to cut a good deal of pinus which is poor timber when compared with the good totara, matai, rimu, white pine, and birch, that the first mills sawed. At today's prices the value of the timber milled could represent a very considerable sum.

Today the green pastures and well-fed herds of cows give quite a different picture of the district. A modern tar-sealed highway with high-powered vehicles creates new industries in place of the sawmills and the timber trade of a few decades ago. With its clear streams, steep hills, areas of native bush, its lush pastures, and herds of cows, it is the home of many happy and contented people. The district has the atmosphere of prosperity!