SOUTH ISLAND ROCK PAINTINGS

Evening Star, Issue 16425, 16 May 1917, Page 2

SOUTH ISLAND ROCK PAINTINGS

MAN BEFORE THE EARLIEST MAORIS. The annual report of Dr Benham on the Otago University Museum contains an interesting account of rock paintings in the South Island, and the way in which these have provided a unique exhibit to •the museum treasures. The report states: —Mr J. L. Elmore, an American* visitor to this Dominion, had been much impressed by the wonderful series of rock paintings executed in the rock shelters that exist in the limestone districts of the .South Island. He made tracings of,all those pointings that he could find or hear oL These he brought with nim to Dunedin, and I was so influenced by his enthusiasm and by his generous oSer of assistance if I would undertake the work, that I arranged to have photographs of these tracinp taken. From these photographs Mr Elmore then made colored drawings of the pictographs of each shelter, showing the true relative position of each object, a'thing that has never before been attempted for the New Zealand pictographs, but which may have some sign! facanco if it turns out that these' figures should have the value of words or be the records of events. But apart from this, these colored drawings snow the exac; arrangement of the separate items in each rock shelter, so that they will be of great value to future students of the subject. So this museum has the only complete set of such drawings of all the known rod paintings in New Zealand. ’ Moreover, with the financial assistance of the Otago Institute, of the Auckland Institute, and of myself, Mr Elmore proceeded to the site of some of those shelters that stand on freehold property, and, having obtained the permission of the freeholders, ho removed the rock face with the drawings thereon from several shelters. Wo have thus acquired some 30 of the origind prehistoric drawings, so that they ar> available for anyone interested in th method of this art to study the manner o' their execution and thp nature of the pi ments used. There is no doubt that tnc are the work of men who inhabited th island long before the arrival of the earl: est Maori, since there is no resemblance to the patterns used by them in their carvings on wood or other material. Some of these originals will be sent in due time to the Auckland Museum in return for their aid. Others, perhaps, be available to other museums which may wish to contribute to the cost of their procuring; but most of them will remain here, and in due time will bo exhibited, together with the colored drawings above-mentioned and the photographs of the shelters or caves which were taken by Air Elmore.