Taranaki wool, more properly known as wood ear fungus, grew profusely on lowland forest in Taranaki. In the late 19th century, as the forest was being cleared, merchant Chew Chong shipped bales of it from New Plymouth to China. This shipment went via other New Zealand ports.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference:
Taranaki Herald, 9 September 1880, p. 2
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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