Ember & Grain · Field Notes · Wood · Nº 19
Mānuka Wood
the tea tree
East Cape, New Zealand. Ngāti Porou country, Captain Cook’s tea, and the honeyed smoke of the Kiwi backyard.
East Cape is the easternmost point of New Zealand’s North Island, a long green coast in Ngāti Porou country. On Otiki Hill above the sea stands a lighthouse. It was first lit in 1900 on East Island, offshore, where four men drowned building it. Earthquakes and slips drove it to the mainland, where it was relit in 1922. On the hills around it grows mānuka.
Tea for the sailors, honey for the world, smoke for the fish.
On the salt
In the Atlas, Mānuka Wood is paired with Red Alaea.
Mānuka Wood · Field notes
| Also known as | Kahikātoa · tea tree |
| Tree | Leptospermum scoparium, myrtle family |
| Native to | New Zealand and SE Australia |
| Home | East Cape · 37°41′ S |
| Honey | Scientifically defined, 2017 |
| Smoke | Sweet, aromatic · 4 of 5 |
| On the salt | Red Alaea · Vol. I, Nº 01 |
Continue in The Origins Atlas
The rest of this chapter lives in the book: the full story of the place, how the wood burns, the people who keep the tradition, and the hand-drawn map.
- The Place · the tea tree
- The Fire · sweet and aromatic
- The Taste · sweet and aromatic
Sources: NZ Department of Conservation; Wikipedia, “Mānuka,” “East Cape Lighthouse”; Captain Cook Society; Trust Tairāwhiti; Te Ara. Imagery is illustrative and AI-generated.