Moa egg going home
The largest moa egg in the world is going home to nest after more than 120 years. Next week-end the egg will be taken back to the Kaikoura Peninsula where it was found in 1857 — to be displayed with artefacts of the famous Fyffe Moa Hunter Site. The egg was discovered there by George Fyffe when he was digging foundations for a store. According to Mrs Beverley McCullock, the liaison officer at the Canterbury Museum, the egg was part of the first moa hunter burial found by Europeans. A report in the “Lyttelton Times” on August 5, 1857, described the egg in detail: “A hole is drilled in the end of it, and the egg must have been considered of great value by the natives, as it was found at the head of a skeleton, with a number of very large poenamu axes.”
The egg was sent to Britain and was not heard of for some 100 years. It was auctioned several times, and mostly held in private collections. Rediscovered in 1966 by Robert Falla, the egg was bought by the National Museum in Wellington. The site where the egg was found has become rrtant archeologicSince 1973 the
terbury Museum has been excavating to find out about the early people who lived there.
Displays of artefacts found there, and talks on the site will be held on June 1 and 2 at Kaikoura.
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Press, 24 May 1986, Page 8
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237Moa egg going home Press, 24 May 1986, Page 8
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