The early European economy of the Catlins during the 1830s and 1840s centred on whaling and sealing. The exploitation of the forests for timber started in the 1860s with the rapid growth of the city of Dunedin as a result of the goldrush of 1861–62. In the early 1870s more timber cargo was loaded at Owaka than at any other New Zealand port.Buckingham and Hall-Jones (1985), p. 11. Forestry and sawmilling declined in the late 1880s once the easily accessible timber had been removed. The extension of the railway beyond Owaka breathed new life into these industries, however, with activity peaking during the 1920s.
