By Aaron Smale. Published by Bridget Williams Books, 2024. Reviewed by Ann Hassan

In Tairāwhiti: Pine, Profit and the Cyclone, investigative journalist Aaron Smale gives context for the destruction caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. In six chapters which were originally articles for Newsroom, Smale describes how the region was made vulnerable by the confiscation and mismanagement of land, and the relentless planting of pine, pine, pine.

Smale’s prose is wonderful — spare and affecting. He describes how Tairāwhiti welcomed him and how he came to call it “home”, albeit a home “beautiful and sad”. So when he tells the story of the region, he says it’s personal: “It couldn’t be otherwise.”

Pine had been sold to the people of Tairāwhiti as “the answer to everything”. Today, the Coast’s relationship with the forestry industry is uneasy, and the desecration of the land has become normal. When Smale asks a young woman at the beach what she thinks of the slash, “She gave a resigned shrug. ‘There’s
always slash.’”

This book will appeal to anyone who suspects that looking 25 years ahead — pine tree maturity — is not enough, especially in the climate change era. At only around 100 pages, it can be read in one sitting — easily done as Smale writes so well.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 301 March 2025: 27