VOTE NOW to help Taranaki’s famous ancient pūriri tree at Brooklands (Pukekura Park) in Ngāmotu New Plymouth claim the title of 2026 Tree of the Year.
Voting closes midnight 8 July. VOTE HERE: https://www.treeoftheyear.co.nz/2026-trees-1/ancient-p%C5%ABriri
One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most impressive native trees, this iconic pūriri (Latin name Vitex lucens) has been an important landmark for generations.
Although hollowed through natural decay, at 23 metres in height and with massive buttressed roots, it is an impressive sight. The tree still produces attractive pink flowers and red fruit loved by native birds such as tūī and kererū. The age of this tree is unknown, but it could conceivably have stood for more than 1000 years.
How has the ancient Brooklands pūriri tree changed over the past 90 or so years? Overall not a lot based on a photograph taken by Stratford photographer John Reginald Wall circa 1934 (below). The photo featured in a publication commemorating the official opening of Brooklands Park on 10 March 1934.
Brooklands, a former private estate, was gifted to the public of Ngāmotu New Plymouth following the death of owner Newton King. It contained a large remnant of semi-coastal native forest that included many aged pūriri, kohekohe, tītoki and pukatea trees.
Newspaper articles from the 1930s detail some of the history of the pūriri – even then it was well known across the motu. Vandalism necessitated the tree being fenced off not long after the opening of Brooklands in 1934 (thankfully no longer a problem), and the tree was visited by the Duke of Gloucester in January 1935. It has had many other visitors since this time.
If you want to plant your very own pūriri to contribute to our botanical heritage then keep an eye on our website shop – we’ll be offering a range of trees for sale in the near future as a fundraiser to help us continue to protect and conserve Taranaki’s heritage and history!
Share this far and wide to help our famous ancient pūriri claim the title of 2026 Tree of the Year!
