Artifacts Found at Site of Known 19th-Century Māori Settlement

MARLBOROUGH, NEW ZEALAND—Sewer line construction along the shore of the northeastern tip of New Zealand’s South Island uncovered a Māori stone adze fragment and a fireplace, according to a Stuff report. Archaeologist Kirsty Sykes said the adze, or toki, was deposited at the site in the late nineteenth century, but the tool could be older. The fireplace was lined with the shells of local cockle, pipi, and mussels, she added. Te Ātiawa o te Waka a Māui relocated to the area at Waikawa Bay after their principal settlement was purchased by the British governor in 1849. “The site is within the rohe [tribal area] of Te Ātiawa o te Waka a Māui, and the Māori associations of the features and materials encountered this far provides a tangible link with the tupuna [ancestors] who lived in this area,” Sykes explained. To read about mid-nineteenth European and Asian settlers on New Zealand, go to "Kiwi Colonists."