Maori Place Names - 39

I love the Weka Pass area. There's something mystical about the place that always fires my imagination. And not without good reason as it turns out. Located around 80 km north-west of Christchurch its home to magnificent limestone outcrops that imbue the landscape with an almost tangible power. The area is well known for its Maori Rock Art – which I have yet to explore. Maori are believed to have first explored the area over 1,000 years ago, in search of food. Birds were plentiful then. It is assumed the Maori camped overnight under the limestone overhangs and using charcoal and red ochre (haematite), also known as kokowai, they drew human figures, fish and dogs. There’s a walkway that provides access to the site in Weka Pass Reserve and there are known to be other rock art sites on private land. I believe the main site suffered good deal of vandalism at one point and now there’s a large fence between the public and the drawings.

Also in this region, you’ll find Pyramid Valley, which I drove through about a year ago – stunning countryside and again littered with massive limestone rocks and cliffs. On a different occasion, I was lucky enough to visit a huge farming property in this area, where I actually touched dinosaur fossils. The place was littered with them and there have been significant dinosaur skeleton finds there too. The area shot to fame in 1938 when two farmers, Joseph and Rob Hodgen, discovered large dinosaur bones when they were burying a dead horse in a swamp on their land. When archaeological research began in 1940, over 183 complete moa skeletons were discovered along with tens of thousands of bone fragments. It’s an area I must go back to - when summer finally arrives.

Moments in History

Kaiapoi Pa Memorial. March 2009. Ajr

When you stand in the grassy field that was once home to the old Kaiapoi Pa – in front of this immense and haunting memorial – it’s interesting to reflect upon the fact that it was once a bustling, ancient ‘industrial site,’ where Ngai Tahu ancestors imported and worked the prized pounamu for their own use and trade. The pa site was established by Turakautahi around the year 1700, after Ngai Tahu crossed over from the North Island. Originally called The Nest of Kaikai-a-Waro, Turakautahi’s descendants later changed the name to Kaiapohia, which became commonly known as Kaiapoi. It was regarded as the chief Ngai Tahu stronghold and, surrounded by waterways and wetlands on three sides, it provided a bountiful food supply of fish and birds. The pa was eventually destroyed by Te Rauparaha’s raids in 1832 and many lives were lost.

March 2009. Ajr
Today when you stand there, you’re likely to hear ‘industrial activities’ of a different kind – the massive nearby development of Pegasus Town, which has in fact, unearthed an archaeological site thought to pre-date Ngai Tahu. The ancient pa site was discovered on the site of planned golf course for the new town; but thanks to co-operation between developers and cultural advisors for Ngai Tahu and Te Ngai Tuahuriri Runanga, that’s now been moved saving the important cultural relics from destruction. The first major discovery – a burnt pou (post) is now at Auckland University, where it is being conserved and protected; and it is hoped that all archaeological finds will eventually be housed in a purpose-built whare taonga (cultural house) near the unearthed pa. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Cloaked in History

Kaitorete Spit, Banks Peninsular. Aerial view. Feb. 2009. Ajr

This is an aerial view of Kaitorete Spit on Banks Peninsular that I took from a plane window on my way to Dunedin recently. It’s a place that intrigues me because of its fascinating history and its associations with early Maori. It was back in 2004 that one of the country’s most significant textile finds was unearthed here – tiny fragments of a Maori cloak carbon dated at around 1500AD, making it two centuries older than any cloak ever before found in New Zealand. (The oldest known cloak prior to the Kaitorete Spit find was a 17th century example unearthed in a Fiordland cave). Kaitorete Spit is around 6000 years old and is known to be one of the most ecologically and culturally important sites in New Zealand. It contains a remarkable collection of plants, several rare species of insects, reptiles and birds and it is of significant cultural value to Ngai Tahu for the fact that over 500 archaelogical sites – many of them ancient ovens and tool-making areas - have been found there. Archaeologists have also unearthed the charred remains of a small shelter, stones tools, a flounder midden, evidence of cooking ovens, pieces of kokowai (red ochre) traditionally used by Maori for painting and decorating, a second cloak fragment, pieces of woven sleeping mat, albatross bones, tools, pieces of roof thatch, part of a woven belt and a 600mm long segment of carved wood. All have been removed from the site and restored within the controlled environment of Canterbury Museum. www.canterburymuseum.com

Digging Up History

Pegasus Town - Aerial View. 2008.Ajr

When I flew out of Christchurch recently, I had a clear view of the new North Canterbury town of Pegasus, 25 kilometres north of Christchurch. Viewed from the air it seems little more than an excavation site and I think the first residents have only just moved into their new house. There is a long way to go for the rest of the town, which will include hotels, shopping complexes, golf course, lakes, a yacht club and homes for 7,000 residents. In the meantime, much has been going on at ground level. Because of the town’s proximity to the old Kaiapoi Maori pa, home of the Nga Tu-ahu-riri hapu (sub-tribe of Ngai Tahu), the town’s developers, Infinity Investment Group agreed to work with a team of archaeologists and tribal representatives to ensure that any artefacts unearthed are treated appropriately. A significant number of Maori artefacts have been unearthed, including greenstone adzes, the remnants of a waka (canoe) and an ancient pou (carved post), which is believed to have been part of the old pa’s palisade defences, which were breached by fire in the 1830s. The plan is to house these and other significant cultural items in a whare taonga (cultural centre) to be built at Pegasus.

The rich historical significance of the Pegasus site has also been acknowledged in the placement of six new carved pou whenua, which make a bold statement at the entrance to the town. Carved by Fayne Robinson, Riki Manuel and Caine Tauwhare, who collectively have more than 75 years carving experience, the pou took eight months to complete. They’ve been carved from wind-felled totara logs from Okiwi Valley just north of Kaikoura and gifted by Te Runanga o Kaikoura on behalf of the people of Ngati Kuri. www.pegasustown.com