THE EARLY INHABITANTS OF NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4154, 14 July 1874, Page 3

THE EARLY INHABITANTS OF NEW ZEALAND.

At the last meeting of the Auckland Institute, the following interesting paper was read by Mr. Goodall, C.E., upon an interesting discovery made upon the removal of a stump of a ti-tree, during some excavations in one of the streets of the city : " I have to record this evening a discovery giving a trace of human life on this island, and in this locality, reaching back beyond history, and supporting the Maori tradition that this island was inhabited before their arrival here, and that the Maoris of the South Island and the Ngatimanawas of the Middle Island may yet be found to be real aborigines, and not degenerate or wild Maoris, as has been supposed by many. This latter belief has arisen from want of evidence beyond the faint tradition of the Maoris. Such evidence I have been fortunate enough to obtain, and now submit to this Institute, trusting that the link thus applied may be the means, in hands more versed than mine in the early history of New Zealand, of deciphering a page of its history, and throwing light on a subject that has puzzled many. Heavy excavations have been cirried on at and about the Albert Barracks by the Improvement Commissioners for the purpose of making new streets for the benefit of the city. During last March, while works were being carried on in Coburg Street, near the junction of Wellesley Street East, the workmen came upon the stump now before you lying in the centre of a narrow track below the road level, and cut for the purpose of laying sewer pipes. Through the intelligence of Mr. James Williamson, the contractor's overseer, who at once recognised its value, it was saved. Shortly after, being on the spot, my attention was drawn to it. It being important that the discovery should be verified by'undoubted authority, I immediately went for, and returned accompanied by, Theophihis Heale,, Esq., Inspector of Surveys, who satisfied himself as to the genuineness of the discovery and the undisturbed stratification of the volcanic debris of twenty-five feet lying above. The place where the stump was found is indicated by the letter B in plan and section. In the section I have shown the stump resting on the clay. When found it was in its natural position—upright, with its roots penetrating the clay. The surface of this clay has some loam in it. The top of the stump was embedded in volcanic mud, and above the stump there were twenty-five feet of debris in perfect stratification. These stratified beds of ooze and debris can be traced till they reach the beds of cinders, and thence to the conglomerated mass of scoria and basaltic lava which occurs adjacent to the volcanic centre. The clay in which the stump once grew occurs immediately above the tertiary rocks, and is from ten to fifteen feet thick. This stump is asserted by those who have a knowledge of New Zealand woods to be of ti-tree—the wood that has been chiefly used by Maoris for making paddles. It has, undoubtedly, been cut down with some tool, and being so, must have been by the hand of man; I leave it to any one to satisfy themselves by a personal examination, whether it be so or not. The cut seems to be too fresh to refer back to so remote a period as the volcanic era; but with the evidence we have of the finest markings of ferns, shells, &c, being preserved from ages vastly more remote, surely we may expect it, in this, which, in comparison, is but recent. Undoubted as these facts may appear, it may yet be well to consider by what other means they may have been produced. The stump I may have been lodged where found by a landslip. It may have been burnt oil, or it may have belonged to a rotten tree, and been broken down by the wind, or by the flow of the volcanic ooze in which it is embedded. The stump was not lodged there by a landslip, as may be seen by the section which shows the onlying strata perfectly undisturbed, and it is further evident that it must have grown on the spot where found, as its roots were penetrating the lower clay. That it was not burnt off is certain, from the sharpness of the edges of the cut, the absence of charcoal, or even of a charred appearance, and the presence of a projecting piece of wood in the centre of the stump, which must have held the tree upright to the last, and which would not have existed had it been fired. That it did not result from a rotten tree is equally evident, for the stump could not now be in as good preservation, the bark would not have remained on it, and the sharpness of the cuts would not have existed, besides the wood would not be so dense. It is, therefore, beyond any doubt that we have evidence of the existence of man long before the period indicated by the traditions of the Maoris of their advent on this island, and at a period before what is probably the oldest volcano in Auckland became extinct." Colonel Haultaiu thought the cut would not have been horizontal if made by human hands. He thought it more likely to be by some other agency. Dr. Purchas expressed a similar opinion. Mr. Heale thought there could be no doubt the cut was made by some instrument wielded by the hand of man."