AUCKLAND INSTITUTE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 184, 5 August 1902, Page 3

AUCKLAND INSTITUTE.

SOME INTERESTING PAPERS.

A .meeting of the Auckland Institute was held in the Museum buildings last evening, When three papers of an interesting character were read by Mr Cheeseman, curator, in the absence of the writers. Dr. E. Roberton presided. The first paper was "Notes on Fish Found in the Piako River," by Captain Gilbert Mair, of the Government Native Department. Captain Mair said that while visiting Pokatunawhenua,. a native settlement about three miles up the Piako river, in March last, he found a party of natives catching large quantities of different kinds of fish in what they called a "Tarawa." Some stout manuka, poles were put up in the channel where .the current took a straight run. The two sets of poles were about 20 to 25 feet apart, and as soon as the tide began to ebb a funnel-shaped net was fastened in the opening, the lower edge being pinned down to the bottom by long poles with forks on them. The top edge of the net was fastened to a bar from one set of stakes to the other. The fish, If the tide be favourable, are taken out about every quarter of an hour; this is done by lifting the long capering end of the net and emptying the contents Into a canoe. As soon as the ebb has ceased, and the flood tide comes up the net is simply turned inside out, and so the process goes on until sufficient fish are caught to occupy all hands in cleaninr and drying. Assisted by a native lad Capt. Mair lifted the net twice in about threequarters qf an hour, with the following results; 581 eels (from Ift to 4ft in length, the largest the size of one's arm); S dozen flounder of various sizes, large numbers of aua or kataha, about 60 or 701b weight of pilchard or'mohirnohi, a few schnapper, mullet and kahuwai, hundreds of yound red cod, rarii, and what he believed to be the young rock cod, or kokopu or rawaru. The red cod were from three to four inches in length; very large quantities of a kind of white bait were also caught at the same time. The Piako river is here about 60 yards wide, and one could form some Idea of the quantity 'of fish going up and down when such a number and variety could be taken out of a bit of water only five yards wide. At high tide the water was almost salt, but almost slightly brackish when low. He had never heard of the young of either the rock cod or red cod coming from fresh water before. Captain Mair forwarded some of the specimens caught. In the second paper, also written by Captain Mair, an interesting account was given of the discovery of an ancient Maori workshop on the seashore near Katikati, in the Tauranga district, at a place known to the natives as "Waiorooro" (the waters of grinding or rubbing). The discovery was made through a shifting sandhill exposing the site of an old village of the prehistoric times, which the present day Maoris say belonged to a long vanished tribe called "Ngamarama." Here were found hundreds of all sorU of native stone and bone implements, in all stages of manufacture—axes, adzes, chisels, net sinkers, ornaments, etc., from the hard dark stone so much,used by the Maoris; also a variety of bone implements from the bones of the moa, the dog, the albatross, etc., such as tattooing chisels, needles, etc., in addition to slabs and flakes of obsidian volcanic glass from Tuhua (Mayor Island). Captain Mair stated, in reference to the name of the place, that the Maoris, prior to the discovery, on being asked by him the reason of this apparently inappropriate name, stated that it had come down from prehistoric times, and that the locality had once been the home of a numerous tribe. Some time back, through the destruction of the vegetation by fire and the trampling of stock, the sand began to move away before the prevailing winds, and ultimately the original surface of hard clay was exposed, disclosing the site of an ancient village, with numerous middens and workshops. Around the latter cart loads of obsidian, chert, and the various kinds of stone used In the manufacture of stone weapons and implements could be seen. Barbed points for fish hooks and bird spears also strewed the surface. In fact, specimens could be seen of almost every domestic article used by the Maoris of the olden times. Stone hammers, stone axes, and adzes, gouges, chisels, drills, spear points, etc., were all numerous, and over 200 perfect examplewere gathered, while probably twice that number of broken ones were discarded. The remains of wooden carvings and implements were also plentiful, but they were so decomposed as to fall to pieces when touched. Since Captain Mair's visit, the sand has again advanced, re-covering almost the whole of the site of the village. . , , A large number of stone axes, chisels, pounders and sinkers, etc., from th» locality were on exhibition, and it was announced that Captain Mair had donated the bulk of them to the Museum, and that the rest would eventually find their way there, as a contribution to the Maori collection. * On the motion of the President, a vote of thanks was passed by acclamation to Capt. Mair for his valuable donation. The third paper was one written by Vrchdeacon Philip Walsh, of North, on the subject of the cultivation and treatment of the kumara by the primitive Maori. The writer gave a large amount of interesting detail*, concerning the subject, collected by himself and Mr Bedggood, of the Bay of Islands, and described the processes of cultivation of the sweet potato and the priestly ceremonies attending the planting and harvesting of the crop: A singular ceremony which formerly was observed on Mokoia Island, in Lake Rotorua, in connection with the planting of the kumara. was mentioned. When the planting time came round the priests took a quantity of the kumaras in a miniature canoe made of raupo reeds and presented it to the stone image of the kumara-god. "Matua-atua» (or "Matua-tonga") on the island, with the appropriate incantations. The little canoe with its cargo was then set adrift on the lake, being supposed to be sent off to the legendary fatherland Hawailki.