IMPORTANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY.

Kumara Times, Issue 433, 14 February 1878, Page 2

IMPORTANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY.

The following telegram, dated Feb. 9th, is sent to the Christchurch Press by its Auckland correspondent;— Judge Monro, who has just returned from Hokianga, furnishes interesting particulars of an important archaeological discovery at Hokianga. In Hokianga for many years past there has been a tradition among the natives that this place was the original landing place of one of the canoes which immigrated to New Zealand from Hawaiki, and it was known that Hokianga had originally been the dwelling place of the great Ngatiawa tribe, but no traces of the original settlement were discovered until a few days ago. The Ngatiawa tribe are able to show by their genealogy that sixteen generations elapsed, or about 500 years, from the landing of the chief Ngakutuhiti, the original ancestor of the tribe. Long ago all traces of the old settlements established by the Ngatiawa were completely obliterated, though frequent search!was made unsuccessfully opposite Webster’s residence. There is a great sandbank running from the point called Orooroongatea. The wind blown sands are constantly shifting so rapidly that a Kuropean house erected on the spot many years ago is completely covered. For many years, probably centuries, the prevailing winds have been the indirect cause of the sand encroaching on the point, but latterly there has been a change, which has. carried the sand in an opposite direction, rapidly uncovering the ancient beach and land marks. Messrs Webster and Tiunie were strolling over the place a few days ago, and were surprised to discover that the removal of the sand had uncovered an immense quantity of bones. They communicated the discovery to Judge Monro, of the Native Land Court, whose intimate knowledge of Maori history, tradition, language, and customs is probably surpassed by few in New Zealand, He assisted in further research, which led to the discovery of a further immense quantity of human bones in various stages of decay, indicating different intervals of time, and all scattered about the immediate vicinity of largo Maori stone ovens, some of which were of sufficient siz to contain the bodies of men laid at full length. Many hundred tons of stones, such as are commonly used by Natives to form Maori ovens, besides flint stones of a kind not found in the Hokianga district, but which must have been brought from the Bay of Plenty,' were found. No doubt this is the site of a series of great cannibal feasts, ranging over long periods. As the sand is gradually removed, fresh bones and traces of ovens are discovered, show ing that the site was used for a considerable period of Maori history. Curiously enough a lady’s thimble, and the remains of some other articles of European manufacture, were discovered in the sand at the same time. These articles must dale to a very remote period, long before the first settlement of Europeans at Hokianga. The two earliest settlers are still resident there, hut until this discovery were totally ignorant of the fact that the site of the ancient Maori settlement existed beneath the great depth of sand that ‘had accumulated, during the lapse of ages. However, a Maori tradition says that a European ship visited Hokianga sum • years after Captain. Cook> that several Ma uie ~ who were never afterwards heard of, we it away in he*’. The discovery of these remains ,s of gre»t interest to students of Mauri history,’ us it wild

enable them clearly to trace the genealogy of Ngatiawa and Te aneU serve to fix an important epoch. It is intended to institute asystematic search on the spot. The immense quantity of human bones and the area covered by the ovens mark a period when the native population of Hokianga was far more numerous than at any time lately, and when cannibal feasts were conducted on a scale erf horrible magnitude.