PRE-MAORI DAYS.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 10566, 20 April 1928, Page 6

PRE-MAORI DAYS.

VALUABLE DISCOVERIES NEAR AUCKLAND. WOODEN PADDLES UNEARTHED (Special to tbe Times.) AUCKLAND. April 10. Some tattooed stones at Raglan, sadly defaced by vandals, are said to be work of pre-Maori people. What is regarded as further evidence of this has been discovered lately in tbe uncovering of some drains that no Maori history or tradition can account for. A settler, when .draining some swamp, found several well-defined drains, and as the swamp settles these come more into evidence. They were made without the use of wood-cutting tools, which is shown by the fact that whenever a stump or log was encountered a dot pur was made around it. In mie of the drains two very large pvoodeu paddles were found, one lying on toji of the other, as if they bad been bound together. One of them crumbled to dust when it- got dry; the other, which must have been of different wood, is still in a perfect state of preservation. It has -a beautifully-finished hand grasp, being quite round with a small nob on tbe end. Hie blade is very long and tapering. The marks ol the stone a>;e used in its manufacture may still be seen. From tip to tip it measures 6ft (2in long, and is far too b’-g for anv ordinary man to use.

The crumbling handle of a stone nxe was also found with the paddles. The head lashing had crumbled away, allowing the head to sink in the ooze.