It was a kauri tree, a copper-skinned conifer endemic to New Zealand. The indigenous Māori hold the species sacred and use its honey-colored softwood for traditional carvings and ocean-going canoes.

The tree—an Agathis australis, better known as its Māori name kauri—was found in Ngawha, on New Zealand's North Island, during excavation work for the expansion of a geothermal power plant ...