Dr Louise Furey, Auckland Museum Archaeology Curator
Many people are fascinated by archaeology and how archaeologists strip away the layers in the soil to reveal what is hidden. From 13-26th February, the archaeology curator from the museum, Dr Louise Furey, is joining a party of archaeologists and students on the annual Field School run by the Anthropology Department, University of Auckland.
Pa site Matakawau (also known as Stingray Pa). Note the triple defensive ditches at the right which protected the pa occupants.
Great Mercury Island/Ahuahu has a well-preserved Maori archaeological landscape. There are parallel stone lines indicating garden plots where kumara and taro were grown, fortified pa, and also occupation sites around the coast. It also has swamps where the environmental history of the island is preserved in the form of pollen, seeds and sediment layers.
Garden site with stone alignments sloping into the wetland area where kumara or taro were grown.
The Great Mercury Archaeological Programme will among other things investigate the history of changes to the landscape, document stone resources and how they were used as tools, investigate changing patterns of marine exploitation and develop an understanding of the social and political organisation on the island over the period of 700 years of occupation. Most importantly, the research will allow archaeologists to develop long term strategies for site management and protection of this outstanding archaeological landscape.
Kumara storage pit depressions in the foreground looking across the central part of the island where the archaeologists will be working in February.
Progress on the archaeological excavations can be followed on this blog or see Dig Diaries (http://digdiaries.ac.nz/fieldschool/), which will record students’ impressions of archaeological fieldwork, the daily routine of fieldwork and what is involved in being an archaeologist. Questions can be asked of the archaeologists about their work, or leave comments.
Welcome to this week’s preview of Tamaki Paenga Hira, an informative program recently featured on Maori Television exploring 13 taonga Maori from the Auckland War Memorial Museum collections.
Episode 13: Tutauru
The show, screened on Maori Television onWednesday 11th January 2012 explored the rich tradition relating to the toki poutangata (adze) ‘Tutauru’.
Tradition states that blade of Tutauru was shaped from a block of pounamu (greenstone) that had been collected in Aotearoa by the Polynesian explorer Ngahue and taken back to the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki. Two adzes were made – Tutauru and Hauhau-te-rangi – and both were used in the construction of the migration waka Te Arawa.
Toki poutangata Tutauru
By the late 18th century the adze had been acquired from its guardian, Purahokura, and transported to England, where it was gifted to a Miss Jennings by her uncle in July 1794. It was eventually purchased by William Oldman and added to his extensive collection before the entire collection was purchased by the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. The adze was deposited in the Auckland Museum in 1950 as part of the Oldman Collection.
Please note that Tutauru is currently on long term loan to Rotorua Museum.
Welcome to this week’s preview of Tamaki Paenga Hira, an informative program currently featuring on Maori Television exploring 13 taonga Maori from the Auckland War Memorial Museum collections.
Episode 12: Te Taiaha a Hōne Heke
This week’s show focuses on the life of northern chief and war leader Hōne Heke. Born in or about 1807 at Pakaraka, south of Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, Heke held considerable authority in the north right up until his eventual defeat at Te Ahuahu in 1845.
Te upoku a te taiaha a Hōne Heke. The head of Hōne Heke's taiaha.
A nephew of Hongi Hika who had led Ngapuhi musket raids south from the Far North in the 1820s, Heke and Tāmati Wāka Nene were instrumental in convincing fellow northern chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 – but only after Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson had assured them that the purpose of the Treaty was primarily to protect Māori land and Māori interests.
Within 5 years, Heke’s dissatisfaction with the British and their increasing disregard of the Treaty of Waitangi drove him to challenge the Crown publically by chopping down the flagstaff at Kororāreka several times in 1844 and 1845.
Warfare was inevitable, and finally broke out when Hōne Heke, Pūmuka and Kawiti led a Māori attack on Kororāreka (Russell) on 11 March 1845. Further battles were fought in the north between Ngapuhi warriors and British troops. Heke’s force held their own in several battles, including the defeat of a mixed force of British army regulars, seamen, marines and European volunteers at Puketutu. He was eventually defeated at Te Ahuahu by a pro-government force of Maori from Hokianga. Heke lived a further 5 years, dying of tuberculosis on 7 August 1850.
The taiaha was gifted to the Auckland Museum by Mr. A Geddes in 1913.
Please note that the taiaha is on display in the Maori Court of the Auckland Museum.
Tamaki Paenga Hira, Episode 12: Te Taiaha a Hōne Heke screened on Maori Television, Wednesday 4th January 2012 at 8.30.
Poster calling for protests agains the US Invicible's visit to Auckland
In a wee storeroom off the top of a stairwell is the Museum’s collection of ephemera. The array of acid free cardboard boxes contain everything from dance cards to fast food menus. The box that is the subject of this blog is a window into two of the great protest movements in New Zealand’s recent history.
It seems a fitting subject for an end of year blog, given that Timemagazine declared “the Protester’ its 2011 person of the year (yes, they still use the singular).
Nearly every right we enjoy today, from the right of women to vote through to equality before the law came through people who stood up and demanded change. People who protested, who argued and who mobilised.
A nuclear warhead heads for NZ
New Zealand’s anti-nuclear protests gathered intensity during the 1970s. Visits by nuclear capable US navy ships brought thousands out to demonstrate their opposition to nuclear weapons. It was a time when the annihilation of life on Earth felt imminent. It seemed an exchange of warheads between the two great Cold War superpowers, Russia and the United States, could be precipitated at any momemnt by an accident or geopolitical incident spiralling out of control.
New Zealander’s anti-nuclear campaign culminated in the decision by the then recently elected Labour government to declare New Zealand nuclear free in 1984.
The most divisive protest movement in recent New Zealand history came when the New Zealand Rugby Football Union invited the Springboks to tour in 1981. Opposition was instantaneous. The first protests attempted to dissuade the NZRFU from hosting the Springboks, who were representing the racist apartheid regime of the white South African government.
Handbook for Springbok tour protestors in the north of the country
Protests began well before the Springboks arrived
The NZRFU went ahead with the tour and the protest movement grew and grew. The country came as close to a kind of civil war as was imaginable. The protests culminated at the final test in Auckland’s Eden Park. A pamphlet from that protest informs marchers that there is “no place for dogs, bicycles, babies or WEAPONS”.
Handout for protestors at the Eden Park match, who had been placed in the Biko group
It also tells them to be prepared to manoeuvre
- To jog
- To stop
- To wheel
- To turn on the spot
Which seems fitting advice to anyone who wants to make the world a better place.
Welcome to this week’s preview of Tamaki Paenga Hira, an informative program currently featuring on Maori Television exploring 13 taonga Maori from the Auckland War Memorial Museum collections.
Episode 11: Nga Pou Whakarae
This week we are introduced to the three tribes who hold mana whenua in the Auckland region. Three carved pou (ancestral carved posts), two from the Museum’s collections and the third commissioned for the exhibition, are used to represent the tribes.
(L-R) The 3 representing Ngati Whatua O Orakei, Tainui and Ngati Paoa.
The three tribes – Ngati Whatua O Orakei, Tainui and Ngati Paoa – reflect the tribal composition of Auckland Museum’s Taumata-a-iwi. The Taumata-a-iwi’s role is to advise the Museum in relation to matters Maori and to fulfill customary obligations.
Te Whare o Riri is the pou that represents Ngati Whatua O Orakei. It originally stood at Otakanini Pa in South Kaipara and symbolizes Ngati Whatua O Orakei’s paramount tangata whenua status over Central Auckland, including the land the Auckland Museum stands on.
Although ancestral knowledge has been lost for the pou representing Tainui, the carving style adorning the pou is acknowledged as coming from the Waikato region to the South of Auckland. This pou travelled with the Te Maori exhibition from 1984 to 1987.
The third pou represents Ngati Paoa and was hewn by master carver Tu Karamaene (Pare Hauraki tribes) using stone tools. The pou represents Paoa, whom the tribe is named after, a famous ancestor associated with East Auckland Region.
Please note that the three pou are on display on the first floor of the Auckland Museum in Te Ao Turoa – the Maori Natural History Gallery.
Tamaki Paenga Hira, Episode 11: Nga Pou Whakarae screens on Maori Television, Wednesday 28th December 2011 at 8.30.
Welcome to this week’s preview of Tamaki Paenga Hira, an informative program currently featuring on Maori Television exploring 13 taonga Maori from the Auckland War Memorial Museum collections.
Episode 10: Sir Peter Buck’s sword
This week we are introduced to Sir Peter Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa) whose military service sword is held in the Auckland Museum.
Buck was born at Urenui in December 1877 and had a largely European upbringing due to the influence of his father. He excelled through his school years and by 1896 he was attending Te Aute College where he was named dux and passed his medical exams. This entitled him to attend the University of Otago Medical School, where he completed his MB and ChB in 1904, and an MD six years later. He was a keen athlete during this period and he twice became national long jump champion.
In November 1905, after qualifying as a doctor, Buck was appointed as a medical officer to Māori, working under Maui Pomare. One of the features of his time in this position was the successful campaign to improve sanitation in the many rural Māori communities around the country.
In 1909 Buck was asked by Native Minister James Carroll to contest the Northern Māori seat after the sitting MP died suddenly. Buck accepted and was elected in the subsequent by-election, and he went on to become a member of the Native Affairs Committee. It was during this period that Buck first developed an interest in the Pacific, spending short periods while on leave in both Niue and the Cook Islands as a medical officer.
The outbreak of World War One saw Buck involved in encouraging Māori to volunteer to serve King and Country, before he himself joined the Māori volunteer contingent as medical officer. He travelled to the Middle East in 1915 and served at Gallipoli, before transferring to the infantry in 1916 where he rose to the rank of major. He was eventually Second-in-Command of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion. It was during this period in the infantry that he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, “For distinguished service in the field [in France & Flanders].” He returned to the medical staff in 1918.
Major Peter Buck accompanying Sir Thomas Mackenzie, New Zealand High Commissioner in London, in France during World War I. Photograph taken 9 or 10 September 1917 by Henry Armytage Sanders.
After the war Buck’s interests turned to anthropology, and he worked with ethnographer Elsdon Best to record the culture and music of Māori communities. He later commenced significant field work in the Pacific for the Bishop Museum (located in Hawaii) and eventually became that museum’s Director.
Buck wrote numerous publications during his time at the Bishop Museum, the most popular of which was Vikings of the Sunrise (1938). Buck died in Honolulu in December 1951 and his ashes were laid to rest at Okoki near Urenui in 1954.
Please note that the sword is not currently on display.
Tamaki Paenga Hira, Episode 10: Sir Peter Buck’s Sword screens on Maori Television, Wednesday 21st December 2011 at 8.30.
Welcome to this week’s preview of Tamaki Paenga Hira, an informative program currently featuring on Maori Television exploring 13 taonga Maori from the Auckland War Memorial Museum collections.
Episode 9: A tale of two pataka: Te Puawai o Te Arawa / Te Oha
This week’s program investigates two special pataka (food store houses) in the care of the Auckland Museum, ‘Te Puawai o Te Arawa’ and ‘Te Oha’.
Raureti Hemana, Napi Waaka and Jim Schuster, descendants of the carvers who built these pataka, introduce us to the histories behind these beautiful taonga.
Te Puawai o Te Arawa was commissioned by the Ngati Pikiao chief Te Pokiha Taranui (also known as Major Fox, of the famed Arawa contingent that pursued Te Kooti). Te Pokiha hired esteemed Ngati Tarawhai carvers Wero and Tene Waitere to build and carve the pataka in or about the 1870s. It eventually stood at Maketu for many years.
This pataka was known by two names: Te Puawai o Te Arawa – The Flower of Te Arawa, and Tuhua Kataore – The Pit of the Taniwha: named after the house owned by Te Pokiha’s father, Taranui. Te Puawai o Te Arawa was purchased from Te Pokiha by the Auckland Museum in 1894.
Te Oha stood at Te Waerenga, on the northern shores of Lake Rotorua. It was completed about 1825 by Manawa and his son Tahuriorangi of Ngati Pikiao.
Te Oha
The pataka was eventually sold by Tahuriorangi’s son Te Mata Tahuriorangi to F.D Fenton for 50 pounds. After Fenton’s death, the pataka was purchased for the Auckland Museum with a special subscription by the citizens of Auckland. Te Oha was accessioned into the Auckland Museum in 1885.
Te Puawai o Te Arawa is on display in the Maori Court of Auckland Museum. Te Oha is currently on long term loan to Rotorua Museum.
Tamaki Paenga Hira, Episode 9: Te Puawai o Te Arawa / Te Oha screens on Maori Television, Wednesday 14th December 2011 at 8.30
Welcome to this week’s preview of Tamaki Paenga Hira, an informative program currently featuring on Maori Television exploring 13 taonga Maori from the Auckland War Memorial Museum collections.
Episode 8: Te Toki a Tapiri
This week’s program investigates the rich history of the waka taua (war canoe) Te Toki a Tapiri. Te Toki a Tapiri was built about 1836 near Wairoa on the East Coast for Te Waka Tarakau of Ngati Kahungunu. The massive waka was then traded to Te Waka Perohuka of the Rongowhakaata tribe of Poverty Bay before it had been fully carved: the transaction saw the famous cloak Karamaene traded in return for the waka.
Tauihu of Te Toki a Tapiri
The waka stayed in the possession of Perohuka until 1863, when it was presented to Tamati Waka Nene and his brother Patuone to commemorate the end of Ngapuhi’s musket raids on the East Coast. In return for Te Toki a Tapiri, Perohuka was given one of the first horses on the East Coast. Te Toki a Tapiri was brought to Auckland soon after the transaction was completed and eventually sold to Kaihau and Te Katipa of Ngati Te Ata.
The outbreak of the war in the Waikato saw Government forces impound a number of waka taua including Te Toki a Tapiri. The Government had feared the possibility of a seaborne attack by Maori on the southern outposts of Auckland, and they sent the Onehunga Coast Guard and the Rifle Volunteer by boat to Waiuku to seize any waka they could locate. Te Toki a Tapiri was seized in late November 1863 and subsequently towed to Onehunga by the steamer Lady Barkly.
Orders where then issued to the Navy to destroy all the assembled waka and all but one of the canoes were destroyed. Te Toki a Tapiri was only saved by the persuasive efforts of Henry Brewer, the Collector of Customs at Onehunga. Brewer had the waka moved to the Customs House yard where it lay for a number of years.
A John Kinder photo probably taken in early 1860s at Onehunga when the waka was saved from being burnt by Imperial troops.
Te Toki a Tapiri was eventually restored in 1869 and featured as the centre piece for the visit to Auckland of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. Paora Tuhaere of Ngati Whatua of Orakei was then asked to care for the waka which he did until it was finally presented to the Auckland Museum by the government around 1881.
At 25 metres long and with a hull adzed from a single totara tree, the waka could carry up to 100 warriors. Te Toki a Tapiri is currently on display in the Auckland Museum’s Maori Court.
Tamaki Paenga Hira, Episode 8: Te Toki a Tapiri screens on Maori Television, Wednesday 7th December 2011 at 8.30.
About a year ago sea slugs like the specimen shown in these videos hit the headlines after they were shown to be responsible for several dog poisonings on Auckland and Coromandel beaches.
Historical specimens from our collections established that the toxicity of Pleurobranchaea maculata is not a new event and in fact, that in Auckland, it has been toxic for at least 16 years.
Discovering toxic sea slugs
In July, August 2009 there was an unexplained spate of dog deaths on Auckland beaches, particularly Narrow Neck and Cheltenham, along with wash-ups of dead marine organisms, such as pilchards, porcupine fish and blue penguins in a wider area.
The deaths co-incided with a drop of brodifacoum poison on Rangitoto Island by the Department of Conservation – part of their pest control programme.
Very quickly a large number of agencies became involved and equally quickly a number of potential causes, including brodifacoum poisoning, were eliminated.
The Cawthron Institute became involved because of their skills in toxicology, particularly of algal bloom events, and there was a slight possibility we were dealing with toxic algae. However, extensive testing failed to pin-point any of the 26 common marine toxins.
Instead Cawthron were able to establish from the testing of a beach-cast grey side-gilled sea slug (Pleurobranchaea maculata) and the stomach contents of two of the dead dogs that a toxin new to New Zealand, tetrodotoxin (TTX), was responsible. The slugs were the carrier.
Tetrodotoxin (TTX)
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is the same toxin as that found in some tropical pufferfish and the Australian blue-ringed octopus, as well as a wide variety of other animal species. It is a neurotoxin, and causes paralysis of the muscles, while leaving the heart and brain relatively unaffected.
One of the muscles TTX affects is the diaphragm and victims usually die of asphyxiation. TTX is deadly even in small doses, and 1-2mg of TTX is enough to kill a 75kg human.
Our little sea slugs contain between 1-8mg of TTX – enough to kill up to 8 adults. They are therefore even more dangerous for children or dogs. For a child it could be fatal just to put their fingers in their mouth after touching a sea slug.
Why are the slugs toxic?
We don’t know why the slugs contain TTX, but it occurs in a wide variety of organisms, for example blue-ringed octopus, the Japanese Fugu pufferfish, toads, some sea stars, and a number of bacteria. In some species, such as the pufferfish there is some evidence the TTX is produced in association with symbiotic bacteria.
Further research by Cawthron Institute, Massey University and Waikato University will look at whether the sea slug is able to manufacture the TTX itself, whether it gets the TTX from its diet, or whether it is produced in association with symbiotic bacteria.
This research will use freshly collected specimens from around New Zealand, historical specimens from Auckland Museum and Museum of Victoria (Australia). It will also try to breed the slugs in captivity.
Have the slugs always been toxic?
Although we don’t yet know if all individuals of the grey side-gilled sea slug are poisonous, in the past year Cawthron Institute has tested freshly collected specimens from Auckland Harbour, Manukau Harbour, the Coromandel west coast and Nelson and all were toxic.
Grey side-gilled sea slug specimens in Auckland Museum’s collections from 1994, 2000 and 2007 tested positive for TTX and show that slugs collected from Auckland Harbour have been toxic since at least 1994. It is therefore highly likely they have always been toxic.
One of our specimens from 1989 (from Stewart Island) tested negative. However, this may have been a false negative – we don’t know yet how stable TTX is in preserved specimens and TTX may be discarded when we replace the alcohol in our specimen jars.
Why didn’t we know it was toxic before?
We weren’t aware about TTX in sea slugs until last year, when MAF Biosecurity reported the unusual cluster of dog deaths for Auckland beaches. This suggests that if there have been any previous dog deaths due to TTX poisoning they have gone under the radar because they were isolated cases. There was simply no reason to test our samples for the toxin before this.
Why are the slugs a problem around this time of year?
Grey side-gilled slugs lay long coils of eggs at the end of winter/start of spring, after which they usually die. The dead slugs often wash up on beaches, particularly with on-shore winds.
At the end of winter, you should keep children and dogs away from the high-tide line, because this is where slugs and slug eggs on seaweeds are washed up. Don’t let them touch or pick up seaweeds or slugs – there is no antidote to the fast-acting toxin these sea slugs innocently carry.
If you would like to know more about the sea slugs, feel free to ask me a question in the comments below or read more on our website.
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