CITY AIRPORT

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 71, 17 December 1928, Page 13

CITY AIRPORT

INTERESTING GROUND KAINGA TO AERODROME MAORI VILLAGE BURIED AT RONGOTAI A portion of the land lying between Rongotai and Lyall Bay now being levelled for aviation purposes lias a certain amount of interest attached to it, since it has been the camping ground for early dwellers on Motukairangi. the Miramar of our day (writes H.M.C.). Immediately to the east of the bitumen plant, south of Broadway, large deposits of shells, bones and oven stones were found a few years ago. plain indications that the Maori population of bygone times had lived there for a considerable time. The gradual spread of grasses, creepers and sandfixing plants has covered all with a

carpet of vegetation, and now _ the whole is buried* by a thick deposit of sand from excavated dunes. Until several years ago the “middens” were undisturbed, and few persons knew of their existence, but, sad to say, all traces are now lost.

A few yards south of Broadway, close to the heap of rock, known as Rongotai Knob, there were indications of Natives having had a workshop there, for many flakes of obsidian and pieces of adze stone were found on the surf;’ p e of the sand. Portions of bone fishhooks were obtained from the same place, and the lower- part of a moa’s beak was recovered a few feet away. Right beside the present buildings of the bitumen plant there stood the best umu or Maori oven that the writer has seen in the district. It covered a space about ten feet in diameter and had a depth of three or four feet. This had been covered several times by drifting sand, and at times was submerged by the surface water in winter. Now it is completely hidden b.; the levelling operations. Close to this the writer found further traces of Maori dwellers in the forms of human bones. Several large bones of the moa lay on the surface, but the damp nature of the ground had rotted them and they fell to pieces at the touch. An adze, shaped from a whitish stone, lay amongst the articles found here.

Further away towards the southeast there lay heaps of shells, and

many pieces of charred moa bones around the old ovens. Apparently the moa and its eggs had been used for food and it is probable that the lordly bird wandered over the adjacent mainland, and his captors had carried the choicest bits to the island home to grace the feast. It is unlikely that the moa lived on Miramar, which was once an island, but then, there have been many bones found in various parts of the peninsula and in places far from village sites. How came they there? The rounded crop stones have been seen in numerous places, and these signs alone cause one to reflect on the likelihood of the srinn: birds having roamed the Vale of Para.

On the "middens” already referred to there were pieces of eggshell, jaw-bones of the tuatara, dog’s bones, parts of seals and sea-lions, and human bones, all mixed togethercollections from the larder of neolithic man. The usual chips of flint and obsidian were present in large quantities, and the anvils and hammers of primitive man lay around. Several pieces of worked bone were unearthed, and fish-hooks in various stages of manufacture came from the heaps of village “rubbish.” Further up towards the north near the sewer, there was an area- ringed

by sandhills, and on the sheltered portions dozens of small ovens covered the ground. They had not been used for any long period, but appear to have been provided for some emergency, perhaps an extra good haul of fish or an enforced visit from strangers who came unwillingly to give and provide the feast. These have all gone the way of the other interesting things in the vicinity, and tons of sand cover them. It is very pleasing to have seen all these remains of old-time folk that lived at our ‘‘back doors,” for assuredly there is very little of this to be seen nowadays. Close here water-worn rocks were found bearing the marks of Pholadae, signs that the tide had flowed over the spot and up into the Miramar flat. s The raised beaches may still be seen between Lyall Bay and the golf links. Three distinct lines of water-worn stones have been traced along to the bluff in the south-eastern corner. In excavating for the sewer foundations the line of one raised beach was followed for several hundreds of yards. The name of the pah or village that stood in this locality, has not been handed down, but the late Mr. J. C. Crawford refers to Tapu Te Ranga as having been situated on the isthmus, and it is thought that he may have been misinformed, for Tapu Te Ranga is the name of the islet from which Island Bay is named. As there are several pah names for which sites have not

been located on Miriunar, one may assume this to be one of them. Thirty years ago several large tree stumps lay on the sand close to the bitumen plant. These may have been the remains of a clump of trees that stood there about seventy years back, for on a map of the district compiled from charts and drawings of Colonel Wakefield’s survey, trees and water are shown in that locality. Drifting Sand. Most of the land about here is very low-lying, and the barrier of sand fronting the beach was frequently washed away and the long rollers from the southerly swell spent their energy well up amongst the sandhills, leaving the trail of sea wrack to mark the top of the tide. The shapes of the sandhills were frequently changing owing to the force of the winds, both northerly ami southerly, and one week of gale would make great alterations to the dunes. Twenty-five or thirty years ago, a light tramway line passed through this drift area, and the track was so frequently buried that a timbered tunnel was built to protect it. The flying sand soon covered the wooden structure, and then went gaily on over the top. After having served its purpose for several years, the tunnel was demolished, and the remains became covered by the drifting sand. Rongotai Ridge, which extends from the east of Evan’s Bay down to Broadway, has had its occupants in far-off days, and at several places indications of village sites have been noted. The site of Maupuia Pah, through which the cutting was made at the Miramar Wharf, is well marked, and from it several articles of native manufacture have been recovered. One of the totara posts was placed in Newtown Museum. Ngati Hinepare, a sub-tribe of Ngatikahungunu, first occupied this stronghold, and on several occasions were called upon to defend it from the attacks of marauding bands. Human remains were found on Rongotai Terrace, some years ago, when excavations were being made. These were probably some of the remains of members of Hinepare, who had lived in one of the villages on the ridge.