The artist and his raw material were a match seven centuries in the making. After a six-metre-tall, 700-year-old pōhutukawa tree fell on their Waiheke Island property, arts champions and philanthropists Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart went looking for a special artist who could give the tree new life in a different form. They found Anton Forde, the artist and ringatoi/sculptor who is known for his works that connect with land and nature.