The gospel according to O'Neil

Why the forest service can do a better job than God!

Once upon a time (1965) there was a forester (Mr Bob Collins) who lived in the middle of the most beautiful forest (Whirinaki). This forest contained the last three stands of totara forest left in the whole world.

One day he noticed that the totaras were dying when they were only 350 years old, which is young for totara which can live for 1200 years. He called in the wizards from the Forest Research Institute in Rotorua who, after 5 years could find no spell to save these forests and pronounced them doomed. Doomed to die, not at the hands of God but by axe and saw.

"One of these (3 areas of totara forest) was in such a bad state that it has been totally logged, we are felling the seond one now and the third has no sign of disease.

"This last area is all green and healthy and we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping it escapes disease at least until we have come up with some answers. We have put a road into it but will not touch it unless the trees start to die and we can do nothing to save them." Thus spake the forester. Bob Collins on 10 January 1972.